I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 93: Reward and Punishment Plan, Decided in One Word
"Zhao Zicheng was so audacious and reckless in handling Zhu Jie's affairs after his death, and he even blamed you for it. If we really look into this matter, it's no small matter!
But it doesn't look like he did it on purpose; he's just young and impulsive, eager to succeed. "Shi Cheng, what do you think we should do with him after Jiangnan is pacified?"

After reading the entire report, Zhao Ji was stunned for a long time. He still didn't know how to deal with this distant nephew whose behavior was extremely complicated. Finally, he couldn't help but ask Liang Shicheng for his opinion.

Liang Shicheng didn't dare to make a direct decision, so he just kindly warned, "I heard that this boy isn't even nineteen yet... It's a shame for a young man to act so impulsively. However, his military achievements this time are indeed enough to convince the people. Besides, the people don't know the inside story of how he dealt with Zhu Jie. If the emperor punishes him too harshly, I'm afraid it will affect the people of Jiangnan... I'm not speaking for him."

"Of course I know! This kind of person cannot be punished openly. We can only promote him in public and punish him secretly, so that the important officials in the court can understand the cause and effect. Without promotion, it is not enough to make rewards and punishments clear, and without punishment, it is not enough to punish his wanton behavior."

Zhao Ji gave the final word on the matter. He then stood up and paced back and forth for a long time before finally coming up with a solution.
"Based on Zhao Zicheng's military achievements this time, he should at least be promoted to the rank of Tongpan or Zhizhou. As for his assignment, the word 'power' can be removed.

If he does not make any new contributions during the subsequent suppression of the Jiangnan rebellion, he can continue to serve as the Tongpan in Suzhou. After the complete pacification of Jiangnan, he can be transferred to a remote and unfortunate military prefecture that is suitable for a temporary official and directly appointed as the prefect. This can be considered a clear distinction between rewards and punishments.

He was transferred from the position of Tongpan in a wealthy place like Suzhou to the position of Zhizhou in a remote and dangerous military state. In terms of rank, he was not treated unfairly, but he could also be disciplined.

If he can make further contributions during the subsequent suppression of the rebellion in Jiangnan, such as the one Tong Qing asked him to assist in the rescue of Hangzhou, and he performs well, then we can move him from Suzhou to Hangzhou and give him a higher rank. As a member of the imperial clan, he deserves a higher rank. However, the military prefecture he is sent to must be even more remote than the one he is in. What do you think would be a suitable place?"

Zhao Ji knew that Liang Shicheng did not want to appear to be very opinionated, so he set the tone himself and only asked Liang Shicheng to help with some repairs and come up with a specific option to keep the evil military state away.

Liang Shicheng pondered for a moment, then, as was customary, cast a stone to test the waters to establish a tone. "The government has always admired my father's talent. When he was at his lowest point, he was exiled to Danzhou. Now that Zhao Zi is being exiled, I wonder if his position should be higher or lower?"

Liang Shicheng claimed all his life that he was Su Shi's illegitimate son, so when the topic of sending court officials to remote and evil military prefectures to serve as prefects came up, his first reaction was to think of his father Su Shi, who was sent to Hainan Island to eat lychees when he was at his most miserable.

Zhao Ji frowned slightly after hearing this. "What's Danzhou? Although it's far from danger, there are no bandits. There are so many prefectures and cities with bandits in the world now. Why don't you let him suffer a little bit and let him hide behind and enjoy wealth and luxury?"

Liang Shicheng immediately realized that he had made a mistake and shouldn't have used Danzhou as an example. Danzhou was already very poor and remote, but there were no thieves. Now the emperor wanted him to move to another place that was even poorer than Danzhou and also had thieves. It would be almost impossible to find them.

Liang Shicheng felt regretful and his thinking speed increased a lot. After some far-fetched thinking, he actually came up with a solution:
"Why not let Zhao Zicheng choose a place in Denglai as the governor after Jiangnan is pacified?"

Zhao Ji was stunned: "Why Denglai?"

Liang Shicheng: "Since Fang La's rebellion, bandits have been increasing in number. In Huaixi, the Huoshan bandit Wang Qing is causing trouble, endangering Ruzhou and Caizhou. Recently, we've heard that the bandits Chao Gai and Song Jiang are also causing trouble in Shandong, but their forces are still small. The imperial court has been concentrating all its efforts on suppressing Fang La, so we haven't been able to deal with them yet. As for Hebei, some Liao soldiers, disbanded after the fierce battle between Liao and Jin, have entered the region and are banditry.

But of the three areas in the world with thieves, Denglai is the most remote and dangerous. Hebei is the worst, but Cangzhou is the worst. Huaixi is not far from the capital, so it can't be said to be remote and dangerous. Only Denglai has Shamen Island, which has always been the worst place for criminals to be exiled or exiled, even more dangerous than Hainan.

Denglai borders the Liangshan and other bandit territories in the heart of Shandong to the west, and Shamen Island to the north, facing Liao and Jin across the Bohai Sea. This will not only allow important officials at court to see your majesty's intention to punish Zhao Zicheng, preventing others from imitating him and seeking fame, but also demonstrate your leniency to the people of the world."

Liang Shicheng's mention of Chao Gai and Song Jiang's rebellion in Shandong is actually quite different from the original history. According to the original historical trajectory, Song Jiang's rebellion should have been quelled by now. According to the official history, Song Jiang's rebellion did not last long. Like Fang La, he was defeated within a year.

However, in this life, it was clearly the butterfly effect caused by Zhao Zicheng that delayed the rise of Chao Gai, Song Jiang, and others. Perhaps it was because Zhao Zicheng, when passing through Xuzhou the previous year, poached Lin Chong and then fought against Wang Lun, which greatly reduced the "seed round" strength of Liangshan. Although Chao Gai, Wu Yong, and others did go up the mountain later, the stronghold had a weak foundation and few troops, so it needed more time to develop slowly.

Moreover, Yang Zhi, Lu Da, Li Jun, Lü Fang, Guo Sheng, etc. were all taken away by Zhao Zicheng. The development of Liangshan was definitely slowed down, and finally the incident became a big deal and was noticed by the government, which delayed the development.

Due to various factors, Fang La became the most powerful person in this life, and then Chao Gai and Song Jiang became the most powerful. With Fang La being the more urgent task to deal with, Song Jiang could only survive for a few more months.

Although Zhang Shuye was still in Shandong, the resources he obtained in this life were much less than those in the same period in history. He could only ensure that the problem of Song Jiang did not worsen, but he had no ability to counterattack and eliminate Song Jiang.

Liang Shicheng obviously hoped that after Zhao Zicheng dealt with Fang La, he would send him to the Shandong Peninsula to do some more hard work.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji nodded in satisfaction. Indeed, Shamen Island was located in Denglai. If he had followed Liang Shicheng's plan, the uninformed common people would have seen the emperor promoting Zhao Zicheng, and no one would have considered him mean-spirited or ungrateful. However, the knowledgeable civil servants would have understood the punitive implications of the emperor's decree, and thus would have avoided allowing Zhao Zicheng's actions to become a bad precedent for future generations to emulate.

If more people follow this kind of behavior, the Song Dynasty will be on the verge of collapse.

Seeing Zhao Ji nod, Liang Shicheng quickly added, "I have just remembered something. Since the beginning of this year, the Great Song and the Jin have reached a maritime alliance. Originally, General Tong was supposed to lead the Northern Expedition to Yanyun by the end of the year to assist the Jin army in recovering lost territory. However, due to Fang La's incident, the expedition has been delayed, and for the time being, the Liao Kingdom cannot be conquered."

A few months after the Maritime Alliance was reached, the ruler of Goryeo in Haedong also sent an envoy, arguing that instead of joining forces with Jin to attack Liao, the court should prioritize a century-long truce and peace with Liao, urging them to "not become part of the rebel party." This incident occurred not long ago, and the Goryeo envoy is still in Tokyo, and the court has yet to respond.

Zhao Ji became slightly impatient and raised his hand to stop them, saying, "What does this have to do with what we're discussing today? The Koreans live far away overseas; what they think is unimportant."

Liang Shicheng quickly admitted that what Zhao Ji said was right, and then explained: "I also think that what the Koreans think is really not important. But after I asked someone to investigate carefully, I found out that the Koreans really said one thing and did another.
On the surface, they told the Song Dynasty that "Liao is a brother country, and its survival can ensure border security; Jin is a tiger and wolf country, and we cannot make friends with it." But in fact, it was because they had good relations with the Liao people before and had grievances with Jin, so they instigated the Song Dynasty for their own selfish interests.

This year, the Jin attacked the Liao capital, Zhongjing. The Koreans, in turn, sent envoys to offer their congratulations and request an attack on the Liao capital's Baozhou. Korea, in its capricious nature, exploited the Jin's lack of seagoing vessels and naval forces, while they did, often cutting off the Liaodong shipping lanes, thus disrupting communications between the Song and the Jin.

If the emperor appoints Zhao Zicheng as the governor of Denglai, it would be a good opportunity to use him as a warning to clean up Shamen Island and the surrounding waters, eliminate the "pirates," and prevent the Koreans from obstructing communication between Song and Jin. This would also allow him to punish those who violate the law. If he performs poorly, then rewards and punishments can be clearly defined, and he can be demoted.

(Note: Liao Dynasty often had the same place name. This "Baozhou" is not the later Baoding in Hebei, but Dandong in Liaodong, which is the area around the Yalu River estuary. It belonged to Liao Dynasty at that time, and the Koreans wanted to take advantage of it.)

After listening to Liang Shicheng's advice, Zhao Ji finally made up his mind.

It seems that there will be one more reason to place Zhao Zicheng on the Shandong Peninsula in the future.

Now the imperial court wants to ally with Jin to destroy Liao and wipe out the rebellion in Shandong. It is best to place a civil servant in Denglai, preferably one from Jiangnan who knows something about the navy. This will not only help clear the water, but also maintain the envoy's route in Bohai and prevent the Koreans from interfering.

Shandong officials, especially those from the north, had no knowledge of water and naval warfare, so they had a hard time dealing with Song Jiang. This was because Song Jiang had found a niche in the north that was perfect for a southerner with good water skills.

"In that case, this matter is settled. Let's see if Zhao Zicheng can achieve any new merits in the subsequent battle to relieve the siege of Hangzhou. If not, after the battle, he will be transferred from the position of Tongpan of Suzhou to the position of Zhizhou of Dengzhou.

If he achieves further merit, and his contributions are truly significant enough to warrant promotion, then he can be made the magistrate of Hangzhou for a few months to appease the people of Hangzhou after the war, and then he can be transferred to the position of prefect of Dengzhou in the spring of next year. Furthermore, he can be given a noble title. The details of this matter will be handled by the Minister of the Imperial Household.

Zhao Ji had never thought carefully about what title to give Zhao Zi.

If a normal person from a different family achieved military merit, it would be difficult to obtain a title. However, if a member of the Zhao family achieved merit, the title would be much more relaxed.

Based on Zhao Zicheng's current military achievements, as long as the emperor is willing, no one will object to giving him a founding marquis-level title. After all, Zhao Zicheng's father already has the title of founding marquis, and his grandfather was also a founding marquis before him.

Although the royal titles of the Song Dynasty could not be simply inherited, as long as the descendants had indeed made great contributions, they could still open a new page of titles similar to those of their fathers and grandfathers.

This is an exclusive benefit for people with the surname Zhao, and it is very reasonable.

After this battle, Zhao Zicheng was no longer a young marquis, he was at least a legitimate marquis.

(End of this chapter)