Do you have the strength to force me to join the Liangshan bandits?

Chapter 408 It's not that Cai Fu can't be defeated, but that surrendering him to the emperor is more cost-effective! [2 Updates]

Ah this...

The four treacherous ministers were in a real bind:

Yes, what conditions should be offered for them to be recruited?

The reason for mentioning the amnesty earlier was that Cai Fu only had Liangshan Marsh, Erlong Mountain, and Mozhou, which was far away in the Liao Kingdom.

The highest honor one could bestow upon him would be the title of Jiedushi (military governor).

As you can see in the original story, when Song Jiang was granted amnesty, Emperor Huizong of Song only appointed him as the vanguard commander of the Liao army.

Cai Fu is in a completely different situation now. He controls Qingzhou, Yizhou, Yanzhou, Jizhou, Lingzhou, Dongchang Prefecture, Dongping Prefecture, and Mozhou, making a total of eight prefectures!

He seized control of Shandong and declared himself king!
It seems a mere military governor can't fool Cai Fu...

How to seal it?
Emperor Huizong's gaze swept across the faces of the four treacherous ministers:
Waiting online, very anxious!

The four treacherous officials looked at each other in bewilderment: Cai Fu is hard to ennoble, hard to ennoble indeed...

In truth, the four treacherous ministers all knew that, given Cai Fu's current abilities, he was probably only fit to be granted the title of king...

Even so, we still have to depend on Cai Fu's attitude!
After all, Cai Fu has already declared himself king and occupied eight prefectures. Why should he be subject to your control?
However, none of the four treacherous ministers dared to utter this word; they could only keep their eyes down, their noses down, their mouths down, and their mouths down...

Emperor Huizong frowned and said, "My four beloved ministers, you are all my confidants, so please speak frankly!"
"If you've said something wrong, I won't blame you!"

The four treacherous officials looked at each other, then all fixed their gazes on Gao Qiu:

You're responsible for your own mistakes!

Gao Qiu was truly exasperated; he'd probably have to carry this burden for the rest of his life!

"Your Majesty, I believe..."

Gao Qiu said with a miserable expression:
"That traitor Cai has already declared himself king; to offer him amnesty, I'd probably need to grant him a noble title..."

“You are right, my dear minister.”

Emperor Huizong nodded: "In your opinion, what title would be appropriate to bestow upon him?"

So you're only targeting me, right?

Gao Qiu was almost in tears: "Your Majesty, I believe that even if he is granted the title of Duke or Marquis, he will not accept it willingly..."

King?

Emperor Huizong knew perfectly well that if he didn't grant her a title of prince, he wouldn't be able to get on the good side of the traitor Cai...

But if word gets out that a rebel has been granted the title of king, what will become of Emperor Daojun's reputation?
Cai Jing could tell from Emperor Huizong's expression that the emperor actually agreed to the title of king, but was only concerned about saving face.

With a quick dart of his small eyes, Cai Jing came up with a plan:

"Your Majesty, the late Emperor's edict states that whoever can recover Yanshan, even if he is not of the same surname, can be made a king!"
"Cai Fu's capture of Mozhou is exactly in accordance with the late emperor's last edict!"

"It makes sense!"

Emperor Huizong slapped his thigh: I've been waiting for you to say that!

The other three treacherous officials were completely convinced: You deserve to be the head of the four treacherous officials!
The late emperor refers to Emperor Shenzong, the father of Emperor Huizong of Song, and there was indeed such a will.

Historically, because of this imperial edict, Emperor Huizong of Song enfeoffed Tong Guan as the Prince of Guangyang.

The problem is that Emperor Shenzong of Song claimed to have recovered the entire Yan region, while Cai Fu only recovered Mozhou, which is quite a discrepancy...

But whatever, as long as there's a suitable excuse, that's fine. Are we really going to mobilize 200,000 troops to attack Cai Fu?
What if even an army of 200,000 couldn't capture Cai Fu?
Send another 300,000? 400,000? The entire nation's army?

Even if we could take down Cai Fu with 200,000 troops, where would we get them from?
Should we transfer supplies from the northern route or the western route?
What if the alien army takes advantage of the situation after the adjustment is completed?
It's not that Cai Fu can't be defeated, but rather that surrendering him to the government is more cost-effective!
"So be it! Who told Cai Fu to take Mozhou? It's like he's expanding the territory of our Great Song Dynasty!"

Emperor Huizong changed his tune, saying that those who expanded the territory could no longer be bandits, but officials—officials of the Song Dynasty.
"I may appoint him as the King of Qi!"
"I can also bestow upon him the neighboring Cangzhou!"

"This is the best and most generous offer I can make!"
"My four beloved ministers, what do you think?"

Your Majesty is quite the schemer!

The four treacherous ministers pondered the geographical location of Cangzhou: it bordered Lingzhou to the south and was very close to Mozhou to the west.

That's fine, but the most crucial point is that north of Cangzhou is the Great Jin Dynasty!
In other words, Emperor Huizong of Song gave Cai Fu this prefecture, which was tantamount to letting Cai Fu herd the border for him!
However, on the other hand, being granted the title of king is a legitimate and honorable status, while Cangzhou is the territory where one has real interests.

With these two chips thrown in, who wouldn't be confused?
But Cai Jing felt that wasn't enough, so he offered another idea:

"Your Majesty, Cai Fu is not yet married. In my opinion, why not make him your son-in-law? With the princess as his wife, Cai Fu will surely be obedient to you!"
"Now that he's a member of the imperial family, how can he possibly rebel?"

"It makes sense!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Huizong exclaimed, "It has to be the Grand Tutor!"

In fact, Emperor Huizong of Song did not care at all about marrying Cai Fu's daughter.

He has thirty-one daughters!

This is only up to now; by the time of the Jingkang Incident, Emperor Huizong of Song had thirty-four daughters!
After the Jingkang Incident, Emperor Huizong of Song went to the Jin Dynasty and had eight more daughters, bringing his total to forty-two!

However, it's hard to say whether the daughter he had after arriving in the Jin Kingdom was his child...

So, which daughter should he marry?

Emperor Huizong of Song hesitated for two seconds:

The eldest daughter, Princess Jiade, the second daughter, Princess Rongde, and the fourth daughter, Princess Ande, have all married.

The third daughter, Princess Shunshu, has been dead for fifteen years.

Currently, the only eligible unmarried daughter is Princess Maode.

It seems the only option is to marry Princess Maode, Zhao Fujin, to Cai Fu…

To be honest, Emperor Huizong was still a little reluctant:

Zhao Fujin is the most beautiful of all the princesses!

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was stunningly beautiful!

But daughters eventually have to get married, so it's worth it to exchange a daughter for a Mozhou.

No, to be more precise, it was in exchange for eight prefectures and a rebel king with an army of 100,000!

Emperor Huizong made up his mind, but pretended to be reluctant:

"But the only suitable one is my Maode..."

Cai Jing seized the opportunity to give Emperor Huizong of Song a push:
"Your Majesty, since that's the case, then let it be Princess Maode!"

Emperor Huizong sighed and nodded:

"My daughter is all grown up; it's time to find her a good husband!"

The four treacherous ministers all flattered him without prior agreement:
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

He was granted the title of king for fame, Cangzhou for profit, and Princess Maode for her beauty!
With three chips and three approaches working together, who wouldn't be confused?

At the same time, a young man who looked very much like Cai Jing suddenly clutched his chest and screamed on the streets of Tokyo:

"what--"

Those around him quickly asked, "Goro, what's wrong?"

The young man was Cai Jing's fifth son, Cai Tiao. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt a pang of heartache!

It felt like someone had ripped half of me out with a single stroke...

Just then, a tall, beautiful woman walked towards them, brushing past Cai Tiao. He quickly stepped aside.

Seeing Cai Tiao's exaggerated manner, the tall beauty couldn't help but furrow her brows slightly:
Are there people faking accidents in Tokyo too?

A burly, imposing man standing nearby asked her:

"Sanniang, what's wrong?"

The tall, beautiful woman glanced at Cai Tiao, but the burly man didn't take it seriously; after all, this wasn't the 21st century.

The burly man guessed, "Maybe it's just too hot in Tokyo today."

Cai Tiao was indeed not trying to scam anyone; the burly men and their group chatted and laughed as they moved on...

【Don’t worry, there’s more to come】

(End of this chapter)