Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 668 Infiltrating and Seizing Power with the Wind

"...Zhang Anguo was dismissed from his position as commander of the vanguard of the Tianping Army and appointed as the new military commander of Pizhou."

"Do you have any objections?"

To the surprise of most people, the venue was completely silent.

Whether they were promoted or left idle, whether they were happy, expressionless, or resentful, they all remained silent.

Moreover, several men with fierce expressions looked around, knives in hand, trying to see who would object.

Upon seeing this, Xin Qiji sighed with emotion.

Just as Xin Jingwei had said, Liu Dalang's prestige had been established, and he could now enjoy his power and influence.

Xin Wenyuan only reacted a little too strongly yesterday when he mistakenly thought he was going to be killed. Now he has just gone from being a commander to a local official to gain seniority, and from a front-line field army to a second-line garrison. It's not like his future is over. What complaints could he possibly have?
Xin Qiji turned to look at Zhang Anguo, only to see that the man's face was ashen, his hands clenched tightly, and he ultimately had nothing to say.

To be fair, Liu Huai had been more than kind and righteous to Zhang Anguo, and Zhang Anguo was well aware of this.

Putting aside other matters, the fact that a political leader of a faction, when faced with a situation where military orders were not being followed, did not have the military judge take direct action, but instead sent several letters to a newly appointed commander, offering kind advice, was already quite considerate.

Zhang Anguo is really asking for it.

Of course, Zhang Anguo wasn't deliberately going against the government; he didn't have the guts either.

His reason for doing this was simple: a person's foundation cannot be easily shaken, otherwise the people's hearts that were gathered by this foundation will vanish. At that time, it would take a long time to find another foundation to gather people's hearts, and it was even uncertain whether it would be successful.

Take Liu Huai for example. If he had abandoned his fundamental principle of resisting the Jin dynasty and instead coexisted peacefully with the Jin, the morale of the Shandong rebels would have collapsed by more than half.

Zhang Anguo's foundation is brotherhood, so when his brothers make mistakes, regardless of whether they are right or wrong, he will grit his teeth and stand up for them.

This kind of personality is all too common among roughnecks.

Liu Huai realized something from this experience: why Xin Qiji was able to easily capture Zhang Anguo in history.

Historically, after Zhang Anguo betrayed and killed Geng Jing, he essentially threw away the very foundation of his loyalty. Those who had been drawn by loyalty would then become disloyal, allowing Xin Qiji to easily lead fifty men into the camp.

Now that he has been reassigned to a second-tier position, Zhang Anguo has gotten what he wanted.

Liu Huai asked again, "Does anyone have any objections? You can raise them now in public."

Still, no one spoke up.

This scene, however, made everyone feel surprised and uneasy.

After asking three times and seeing that no one spoke, Liu Huai decided to move on to the next topic.

However, Wei Sheng slowly said, "What you haven't said, I have to say."

After a pause, Wei Sheng's voice gradually became solemn: "I know that some of you are dissatisfied, that you feel that you are being treated poorly despite being elders, that the people above are cold-hearted and unfair, or that the people below are ambitious and stabbing you in the back. But I tell you, it is not like that."

“The Northern Expedition is difficult.” At this point, Wei Sheng sighed inexplicably before continuing, “Most of you are young, and seeing the excellent situation today, you feel complacent.”

But people my age have seen far better situations, even situations this favorable, yet ultimately failed.

"The Central Plains, Hebei, and Guanzhong have been occupied for decades, and the Youyan, Western Regions, and borderlands have not seen the majesty of the Han dynasty for centuries. Have there been no heroes, ministers, or generals who have tried to restore it during these decades or centuries?"

"Yes, but it's too difficult. Everything is too difficult. Enemies in front of you, enemies behind you, open and covert attacks are pressing you from all sides, which is why so many people have failed."

"The current situation is the result of the collective efforts of millions of people, and it is also a stroke of good fortune. Every step from now on must be taken with utmost care. This is especially true in the military. The capable should be promoted, the incompetent should be demoted, and rewards and punishments should be properly distributed. This is the only correct approach."

Looking at Wei Sheng, who was speaking eloquently, how could Liu Huai not know that his adoptive father was taking the blame for him?
He wanted to tell Wei Sheng that it didn't matter and that he wasn't afraid of the others holding a grudge, but in the end, he couldn't refuse the old man's good intentions.

Wei Sheng pointed to himself and said, "Just like me, after realizing that I am not as good as you, my brother, in military and political affairs, I stopped leading troops, didn't I? But I still refuse to admit that I am old. Are you young people going to give up just because you have suffered a little setback?"

"Don't dare."

"Don't dare."

Several officers of the Loyal Army who had been assigned to local jurisdictions stood up and saluted.

"Sit down, everyone." Wei Sheng waved his hand. "This is a military council, there's no need for such formalities. The great battle will continue, and there will be more opportunities to make contributions later. We will not use this moment to determine rank and status."

"Here!"

After suppressing a certain strange emotion amidst the resounding agreement, Liu Huai smoothly moved on to the next topic.

Military regulations.

"...That concludes the entirety of the military regulations."

After briefly reciting and emphasizing military discipline, Liu Huai said solemnly, "But what I want to say is not just this. The military judges and clerks in the army are all appointed by the military governor's office and the marshal's office."

“Some generals treat their troops as their private property, whipping soldiers at the drop of a hat and ordering military judges around like cattle. This is not only disrespectful of military law, but also shows no regard for the Marshal’s Office and the Military Governor’s Office.”

At this point, Liu Huai's tone softened: "Of course, some military judges who abuse their power and bully military commanders should also be punished."

Several officers were secretly wiping away sweat when they heard the first sentence, but immediately relaxed when they heard the second sentence.

But Liu Huai's next words made everyone's hearts leap into their throats.

"The root cause of these conflicts is the lack of communication between superiors and subordinates, and the resulting suspicion between internal and external parties. Therefore, to resolve these issues, we must first ensure smooth communication."

“Those who participated in the Northern Expedition from the very beginning, and who went on the expedition with my father, were close to each other and naturally had no barriers between them.”

However, if someone like General Huyan or Commander Wang Youzhi joins our army later and we haven't built a close relationship, it would be bad if we developed a rift later on.

As for the commanders under Governor Huyan, I have no idea what they are.

"Take, for example, that military judge under General Huyan who actually insulted the commander. Commander Ji Cheng, being a newcomer, swallowed his anger and kept quiet. In the end, if General Huyan hadn't completely lost his patience and reported it to the military governor's office, I might still have been kept in the dark."

"This will lead to a major disaster sooner or later."

"Therefore, I hereby establish a system of private correspondence. Military officers of the rank of deputy commander and above, and local officials of the rank of prefectural magistrate and above, shall write me a letter every two weeks."

"This letter will not be made public, and I will not let anyone know its contents. It is just between you and me."

"If there are unspeakable hardships, hearsay, recent insights from reading, experiences from training and marching troops, or even things like a delicious side dish, dry weather in a certain place, good health of parents, or filial piety of children, these can all be written in it."

"Once we open our hearts to each other, the number of times we deceive our superiors and subordinates will naturally decrease."

Although Liu Huai spoke with a smile, and some people showed signs of being moved after he finished speaking.

But clever people have already vaguely realized that if this system can be firmly implemented, then Liu Huai will be fully aware of the major events happening in Shandong.

Because the rule of writing a letter every two weeks is fixed, and there are no requirements on the content, meaning that one cannot use being busy with official duties as an excuse to shirk this responsibility.

If you can't write official documents, does that mean you can't even write a simple note?

Information will naturally be revealed in due time.

More importantly, the letter was completely confidential, meaning that colleagues could be attacked and badmouthed in secret.

When individuals have different interests, they may disagree, which gives Liu Huai a starting point for his investigation.

Under this system, theoretically, the only way to deceive Liu Huai was for a prefecture to have its garrison, civil officials, and even the censors and secret agents who might come later to all agree on the same thing and work together.

Theoretically, this is impossible.

Liu Huai's approach wasn't original; he learned it from Dai Qing's secret memorial system.

The secret reporting system is ultimately just a system; it is neither good nor bad. Decision-makers can use this system to ensure the smooth flow of information. However, some people will abuse this power, while others will use it to make better decisions.

Of course, all systems have loopholes.

By the Qianlong era, the secret memorial system had been figured out. Wang Danwang then had all the people in Gansu who had the power to write secret memorials deceive the Qianlong Emperor by claiming that there was a severe drought in Gansu. In this way, they obtained a large number of scholar positions, which were then sold off, and all the officials in the province made a fortune.

However, this secret communication system has just emerged, so it's worth using.

There was even less opposition from those in the meeting.

A small number of intelligent people know that this is Liu Huai consolidating power, but what is wrong with a military and political leader wanting to consolidate power?

Or, to put it another way, since you've already joined this military and political group, why not help the political leader consolidate power to show your loyalty? Or are you going to try to undermine them?
For most people, the opportunity to build a close relationship with a political leader is incredibly rare. They would be the first to object to anyone who disagrees.

After smoothly passing the third clause, we finally arrived at the grand issue of 'how to restore the livelihood of the people in the North'.

Because the topic was so broad, no one spoke up at first.

“Commander-in-Chief, then let me go first.” After a moment of silence in the hall, it was Li Tong, the former prime minister of the Jin Dynasty, who stood up and spoke.

"The so-called 'people's livelihood in the north' does not only refer to Shandong. In other words, it means that those who need to be shown kindness are not only the people of Shandong, but also the people of the Central Plains and Hebei."

"Among them, the most important point is that the prefectures bordering the Jin state should accept the refugees and provide unified relief, and then distribute land to the prefectures in Shandong."

“Today, the population of Shandong and its two circuits has not yet recovered to the level of the former Song Dynasty, and there are still large areas of wasteland waiting to be cultivated.”

“These refugees could not be hastily given land; instead, they had to be settled in civilian settlements and managed uniformly. Only after two years could the civilian settlements be disbanded and land be distributed.”

After stating the most important and rigid requirement, Li Tong began to speak eloquently, recounting his long-considered plan: "The so-called restoration of the people's livelihood in the North is nothing more than developing the 'scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants'."

"For scholars, it is not enough to just appoint them, but also to cultivate them. The Commander-in-Chief has already established schools in the garrisons, and it is now imperative to establish community schools in the local areas."

"This plan should have been launched last year, but it was delayed due to a series of major battles. It can no longer be postponed."

"The number of community schools built should be recorded in the performance evaluation of local officials, and used as a basis for promotion or demotion."

This is almost a complete copy of the Ming Dynasty's grassroots education policies.

But Li Tong still played a trick, not openly stating how he would appoint the "scholars".

After all, when it comes to holding provincial examinations, it's best to keep quiet and make a fortune. Then, issue a government decree to get things done quickly and efficiently.

They didn't give Lu You and the others time to react.

Li Tong continued speaking eloquently: "As for agriculture, we will continue to take measures such as building water conservancy projects and reducing corvée labor. This time, we will continue to reduce agricultural taxes. The 30% tax rate is too high. This year, it should be reduced to 10%."

Newly reclaimed land will be exempt from taxes for three years to restore population and arable land.

When the business was small, Wei Sheng personally oversaw it and could collect 30% tax without imposing any exorbitant levies.

However, when this policy was extended to Shandong and its surrounding areas, such a high tax rate could not be maintained. This was because systemic corruption was unavoidable in the feudal era; if the higher authorities set a rate of 30%, lower-level officials would dare to collect 50%.

This is something that cannot be avoided simply by human will.

If administrative power were to supervise every minor official, the massive bureaucracy would cripple Shandong.

The only way to reduce agricultural taxes is to lower the tax rate at the top and supplement it with supervision from inspection agencies.

To be honest, if this were a peaceful and prosperous time, this 10% agricultural tax would be quite high, but this is wartime after all. To want a tax of 15% or even 10% would be simply unrealistic for Shandong today.

Even with this 1/10 tax rate, some people felt it was too low and immediately tried to refute it.

Li Tong, however, reacted quickly, waving his hand and saying, "Don't rush. I know that such tax revenue might decrease, and if military pay can't be issued, there will be big trouble. And that will fall on the shoulders of 'industry' and 'commerce'."

"First, let's talk about 'crafts'. Crafts include many things, such as weaving straw sandals, making furniture, making bronzeware, and even tea, winemaking, alum, and coal can all be considered 'crafts'. But the government cannot interfere in all these industries, otherwise it will become a bad policy of competing with the people for profit, just like in the Song Dynasty, which will inevitably lead to the decline of the industry."

"The only industries that the government can intervene in are salt and iron."

"First of all, there is salt. Both Haizhou and Rizhao have excellent salt fields, producing a huge amount of salt every year, which is enough to make a huge income."

"Secondly, there is iron. There were several huge iron mines in the northeast of Shandong. After the recapture of Xuzhou, there is no shortage of blacksmiths. We can make ironware and sell it next year."

Upon hearing this, Liang Su stood up and interrupted Li Tong: "The Commander-in-Chief has repeatedly emphasized the need to stabilize the market and not to over-profit from the people's daily necessities. Isn't Staff Officer Li going against the general policy this time?"

Li Tong waved his hand and laughed, "Meng Rong has misunderstood me. It's not about competing with the people for profit, but about relieving their worries and making things convenient for both the public and private sectors."

"Oh?"

"Meng Rong was thinking about Shandong. Under the wise decisions of Duke Wei and Commander Langjun, people's livelihoods were restored and salt and iron prices were stabilized. But for the whole of the North, and even the whole world, it was not like that at all."

Meng Rong is unaware that the price of salt in Lianghuai has reached 300 wen per catty, while the price of salt in Hebei in the Central Plains has reached the point where there is no market for it. Why can't we sell our salt and iron to such places?
Even if salt costs 100 coins per pound, it can quickly stabilize salt prices, benefiting both me and the people. Why not do it?

Li Tong shrugged in response.

The price of salt in the Song Dynasty was indeed outrageous.

Even during the chaotic period of the late Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, salt prices never reached this level. It can only be said that the officials of the Song Dynasty were truly capable.

Yu Yunwen also wanted to stabilize salt prices, but the major salt merchants in Jiangnan were not just businessmen, but also front men for powerful figures. Some of them even had shares in Zhao Gou. How could he possibly stabilize salt prices?

One more thing to add: since taking over Zhao Mi's dozen or so wineries, Zhao Gou has transformed into the largest wine merchant in Jiangnan, and the retired emperor is living a very comfortable life.

After a moment of silence, Liang Su said, "What Staff Officer Li said makes sense, but wouldn't that aid the enemy?"

Li Tong didn't try to trap us by asking pointless questions like who the enemy was. Instead, he shook his head and said, "No, because our merchants don't trade with the government. They deal directly with local powerful families to supply goods. These bigwigs are naturally not on our side, but they are not on our side either with the governments of the Song and Jin dynasties."

Lu You slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his eyes bloodshot with anger. However, when everyone's gaze fell upon him, he could only sigh and sit back down.

Lu You was an official of the Song Dynasty, a scholar-official, and a Confucian scholar who had read the classics and experienced the hardships of ordinary people.

Li Tong's plan was indeed to swindle the state-run salt fields of the Song Dynasty, but what could he do about it?

Isn't it the Song government itself that has been harming the people all along?

Now the Shandong military governor's office has a way to make the people of Song eat cheaper salt, but Lu You is going to speak out against it. When someone stands up and questions Lu You about whether he is on the side of the people, how should he answer?

All my words can only be summed up in a sigh.

Li Tong, being quick-witted, naturally knew what Lu You was thinking, but he only glanced at it before letting the matter drop and continued to respond to Liang Su's question: "As for ironware, Meng Rong has even less to worry about."

“What we sell are tangible items like hoes and iron pots, which will become daily necessities for ordinary people. If the Song or Jin dynasties were to collect ironware from the people, they would directly lose the hearts of the people.”

At this point, Li Tong added, "They wouldn't be that stupid."

This can be considered as making amends for the State of Song.

Li Tong had also served as a local official. All policies require people to implement them. For example, if the government wanted to collect ironware, it would definitely send soldiers or yamen runners to collect it from house to house.

How could these yamen runners and soldiers only collect ironware?

It would be strange if they didn't confiscate all the valuables and property when the time came.

Public resentment will immediately boil over.

The Song Dynasty did something similarly foolish. Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji, loved the strange stones of Jiangnan and built the Genyue Garden to collect tribute of flowers and stones from Jiangnan.

Zhu Mian, who was in charge of this matter in Jiangnan at the time, was so powerful that whoever he pointed at would have their family ruined and their entire clan exterminated. If someone said that your family had a rare stone, they would be forced to have one even if they didn't.

If they didn't hand it over, they would search the place thoroughly. Once the soldiers, as fierce as wolves and tigers, broke down the door, the outcome was no longer up to anyone else.

At that time, countless wealthy families in Jiangnan were ruined, which directly triggered the Fang La Rebellion.

Liang Su was naturally aware of the mess in the Song Kingdom. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but glance at Lu You before saying, "Since Military Advisor Li has thought it through, then I have nothing more to say."

Li Tong nodded and continued, "And to achieve these revenues, we have to rely on 'business'."

At this point, Li Tong also glanced at Lu You: "Mr. Lu, if I remember correctly, the Song Kingdom's commercial tax is extremely heavy."

After starting to discuss serious political matters, Lu You put his earlier emotions behind him: "If we look at the taxes collected by the imperial court itself, it's not that much. However, if we include taxes collected by the government and those collected by local checkpoints, then it's really uncountable."

The commercial taxes of the Song state were also a matter of metaphysics.

Furthermore, for the commerce of the Song state, the biggest problem was not taxation, but state monopoly.

In order to more easily extract profits, the government put commodities such as tea under state control, which quickly squeezed the market into a slump.

"So, in Mr. Lu's opinion, is this tax system reasonable?"

Lu You remained silent.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiaoxiang said from the audience, "Military Advisor Li, please don't belittle Mr. Lu. Taxation is a major national policy, and even a prime minister can hardly get involved."

Li Tong asked with a half-smile, "Prefect Zhang, I have no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of the Song Dynasty, but this time we are here to discuss the commercial tax of Shandong. If the Song Dynasty's tax system is reasonable, we may as well choose the best practices and follow them."

Zhang Xiaoxiang hesitated, but ultimately could not find a good point about the Song Dynasty's commercial tax system, and could only sigh.

With just a few words, Li Tong forced the three scholar-officials, Lu You, Zhang Xiaoxiang, and Liang Su, to back down. He immediately felt a sense of pride and satisfaction, but he did not show it on his face. He turned to Liu Huai and said sincerely, "Lord Wei, Commander-in-Chief, I was once the prime minister of the Jin Kingdom, and I know the Jin Kingdom very well."

The Jin dynasty's commercial taxes were in complete disarray, not only due to bureaucratic inefficiency, but also because the local Meng'an and Mouke households had become local rulers, making trade routes virtually impossible to maintain.

Li Tong sighed as he finished speaking.

Although Wanyan Liang was responsible for the enfeoffment of the Meng'an Mouke households in the Central Plains, as the prime minister, how could he escape responsibility for such a mess?
"Therefore, it is difficult to learn from the commercial tax laws of the Song and Jin dynasties, and the Tang dynasty is too far removed from the present day to be used. Therefore, we need to carefully consider how to collect commercial taxes in Shandong."

“But first of all, we need a department to take the lead in planning this matter.” Li Tong took a deep breath, revealing his true intentions: “Lord Wei, Commander-in-Chief, I request the establishment of the Shandong Two-Route Transport Office, and I request to serve as the Shandong Two-Route Transport Commissioner.”

The room fell silent. Half of the attendees suddenly realized what was happening, their eyes darting back and forth between Lu You and Liu Huai, their expressions somewhat strange.

Lu You was already a shoo-in for the position of Shandong Pacification Commissioner, theoretically the highest military and political official in Shandong.

However, his military and personnel power were seized by the Marshal's Office and the Military Governor's Office, and now his financial power is about to be taken away by the newly established Transport Commissioner.

So what power did Lu You, as the Pacification Commissioner, still have?
He's just a clay sculpture of a scholar.

Moreover, the person who wanted to serve as the transport commissioner was Li Tong, the former prime minister of the Jin Dynasty who was definitely not of one mind with the Song Dynasty. How could it not make people think about Liu Huai's personal affairs?
Before anyone else could speak, Liu Huai frowned and asked, "Mr. Li, is the Transport Bureau you mentioned before or after the time of the Stubborn Prime Minister?"

The stubborn prime minister is Wang Anshi.

The official system in the Northern Song Dynasty was very chaotic, but before Wang Anshi, the Transport Commissioner was in charge of local taxation and canal transport, and also had judicial power, making him extremely powerful.

After Wang Anshi's reforms, the transport commissioner was basically only in charge of the finances of his route, and his power was greatly reduced.

“Naturally, it’s the Transport Bureau after the Stubborn Prime Minister,” Li Tong replied earnestly. “Not only that, the Shandong Maritime Trade Office shouldn’t be subordinated to the Transport Bureau either; it should be an independent department. Moreover…”

Li Tong cupped his hands in greeting to He Boqiu to show that he meant no harm: "The position of shipping admiral is of great importance. At present, it can be filled by a trusted confidant of the eldest son, but afterwards it must be filled by the eldest son or his son, otherwise things may change."

At this time, the shipping admiral was He Boqiu's son, He Zizhen, who did a very good job.

But after observing the situation for a long time, Li Tong roughly figured out the advantages and disadvantages of sea transport, and then he broke out in a cold sweat.

In summary, the ships are too self-sufficient; once they are deployed, they disappear completely. If they become rebels, they are impossible to wipe out, let alone pirates. They could even establish a kingdom in remote, uncivilized areas!
Moreover, Liu Huai proposed the idea of ​​replacing grain transport with sea transport in order to manage the Yellow River. This shipping commander could also threaten grain ships and trade routes. As long as he could stand firm at sea at a critical moment, he could negotiate with the imperial court.

Therefore, taking this opportunity, Li Tong publicly expressed his concerns and proposed that only the emperor or the crown prince could concurrently serve as the shipping admiral, and no one else could.

This can be considered a forced replication of the experience of bringing Ying.

It can only be said that all intelligent people in the world are of the same mind.

Wei Sheng and Liu Huai whispered a few words to each other before Wei Sheng said, "Let's put the matter of the shipping admiral aside for now. As for whether the transport office should be established, everyone should vote by raising their hands. As usual, two-thirds is enough for approval."

Veteran soldiers who had experienced similar situations in the past simply believed that Duke Wei and the Commander-in-Chief had brought their military habits into politics, which was not surprising.

But the newcomers were somewhat surprised.

Is there really a vote by raising hands for something like this? Shouldn't the person at the top make the decision with a single word?
However, soon after the clever people realized that this was a local Shandong team to prevent the Song state from seizing power, the less clever people realized that this was a department in charge of the economy of two routes. Once it was established, how many official positions would be created and how many vacancies would there be?
Wouldn't some of our relatives and friends who are still struggling at the grassroots level get promoted by then?
Soon, hands were raised high, resulting in a unanimous vote in favor.

"Alright, so next, besides Mr. Li, who else would like to volunteer or recommend someone else for the position of transport commissioner?" Wei Sheng continued to ask.

This was far too urgent. Li Tong caught everyone off guard, and Wei Sheng immediately followed up with the Dog-Beating Stick, seemingly wanting to settle things today, acting as if he was seizing every minute, which was truly surprising.

However, this is the Transport Commissioner, the Minister of Finance who controls finances. How can he easily give it up to someone else?
Everyone lowered their heads and began to think.

Zhang Xiaoxiang glanced at Lu You, who was bowing his head and remaining silent, gritted his teeth, stood up, and said, "I, Zhang Xiaoxiang, recommend myself."

When Hu Yananxian saw her former colleague, she was somewhat tempted and wanted to agree, but then she secretly shook her head.

Zhang Xiaoxiang jumped out too hastily, and his stance is not very firm, which may backfire.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the rebel leaders, who were originally quite disgusted with the surrendered Jin people, all changed their expressions.

Hu Yanan smiled bitterly to himself.

In a sense, it would be difficult for someone like Huyan Nanxian, a Jin defector, to get along with the anti-Jin rebels in Shandong. Instead, he should have formed an alliance with the Song civil officials, who were also guests in the country.

But the key issue is that the Song state's political integrity and credibility are really too poor. If the Song state were to take charge of the overall situation in Shandong, and then use Shandong as a bargaining chip to give to the Jin state, who could accept that?

Therefore, although they were sworn enemies before, in order to resist the invasion of the Song Dynasty, the surrendered people of the Jin Dynasty and the Shandong rebels actually formed a political alliance, which can be regarded as a political spectacle.

"Who else?" Wei Sheng continued, "Who else would like to volunteer?"

Liu Huai looked at Luo Guzi, who had remained silent: "Mr. Luo..."

Luo Guzi waved his hand and laughed, "My ambition lies in controlling the river. Planning is neither my ability nor my desire."

Wei Sheng nodded, then said, "Let's vote by raising hands."

“Those who agree with Prefect Zhang Xiaoxiang, please raise your hands.” After saying this, Wei Sheng surprisingly raised his right hand first.

This naturally sparked a hushed discussion, but what was even more surprising was that Liu Huai did not raise his hand.

The people in the meeting were at a loss for words. Was this a public display of conflict between the father and son, or was the vote truly so sacred that everyone could express their opinions?

However, Wei Sheng was, after all, the leader of the Shandong rebels, and naturally had some unconditional followers.

Lu You had just become somewhat excited, but his heart slowly sank again.

Even Wei Sheng only managed to bring together a dozen or so people, which was still less than 31 people.

Wei Sheng nodded slowly: "In that case, those who agree to appoint Mr. Li as the Transport Commissioner, please raise your hands."

Liu Huai raised his hand, and then everyone who had been staring at him also raised their hands.

"...Forty-six people, more than two-thirds." Wei Sheng looked at Lu You and Zhang Xiaoxiang, who seemed somewhat lost, and then, whether speaking to them or implying something, said: "The will of the people cannot be defied. Mr. Li, the responsibility of the Transport Office is now entrusted to you."

Li Tong bowed deeply, first to Wei Sheng and Liu Huai, then to everyone in the hall, displaying a truly smug and self-satisfied demeanor.

(End of this chapter)