Jiangning, south of the Zhen Garden and Yuqian Street, separated by a clear pool, at this time in August, Jiangning's summer heat has not dissipated, the lotus flowers in the clear pool are blooming, their faint fragrance wafting into the residence.

  In the Chen Garden's Floating Emerald Pavilion, Li Zhuo wore a green linen shirt and held a chess piece in his hand, hesitating to put it on the board. He looked at the chess piece again, then gazed out at the lotus pond outside the pavilion, and after a long while, he finally dropped the chess piece into the box.

  "What is General Li hesitating about?" The middle-aged man sitting opposite Li Zhuo was nearly fifty years old, with a dark face and curly whiskers, tall and imposing. If he weren't wearing a Confucian robe and a scholar's hat, others would have thought him to be a rough and unrefined military general. He was Yu Xinyuan, the Left Servant of the Ministry of War in Jiangning and the Left Investigating Censor of Jiangning. Yu Xinyuan narrowed his eyes as he looked at Li Zhuo, smiling as he said, "The Chu party is falling apart too quickly, General Li is clumsy in his response?"

  Yu Xinyuan and Li Zhuo were both jinshi in the same year, and they entered the Ministry of Punishment as zhushi officials at the same time. They worked together for ten years before being assigned to local posts, during which their relationship deepened. Li Zhuo accumulated experience until he became Vice Censor-in-Chief of Jiangxi, and later, with the recommendation of Chen Xinfu, he took on important positions such as Censor-in-Chief of Jiangxi and Governor-General of Eastern Fujian. Yu Xinyuan, however, was affiliated with the Wu Party faction and had a poor relationship with Chen Xinfu. He was successively demoted to Jiangning by Chen Xiyin and other Wu Party officials, where he served as Left Servitor-in-Attendance in the Board of War and Left Assistant Censor-in-Chief of Jiangning, having not been promoted for six years.

  Li Zhuo didn't answer Yu Xin Yuan's question, and instead took out another white piece from the chess box and placed it on the board. He changed the subject and asked: "Chen Xi has made a bad move, and the Xixi Academy is no longer staying. Would you like to take over as the leader of the Wu Party?"

  "If you're referring to the academic affairs of Xixi Academy..." Yu Xin Yuan smiled lightly and said, "Chen Xiyan's body is not well, he returned to his hometown for recuperation, so I reluctantly took over as the temporary head of Xixi Academy in his place."

  Gao Zongting stood beside him, his eyes fixed on the chess pieces.

  Since the great Confucian scholar Chen Huangzhou began to lecture at Xixi Academy, Xixi Academy has been the most important gathering place for scholars and gentlemen who lingered in Jiangning to lecture and discuss. Through various connections such as same year, same school, and local factions, Xixi Academy closely linked the scholars and gentlemen of Wu-Yue region and surrounding areas with the sons of local aristocratic families. People called it the Wu Party or the Xixi Party.

  After Zicheng Huang Zhou, the person in charge of Xixi Academy's lectures was none other than the leader and chief of the Wu Party. It can be said that in Jiangdong Prefecture, the words of the Wu Party leaders were more effective than those of the Proclamation Envoy.

  Chen Xiyin was a native of Pingjiang Prefecture and Jiayang County, with the Taihu Lake surrounding over a thousand miles. At this time, the pirates in the East China Sea were causing trouble, making it difficult for people to live in peace; even Jiayang was not at peace. Chen Xiyin returned to Jiayang at this time, naturally unable to rest and recover in peace.

  After all, it was still due to the involvement of Qu Jian's case that Chen Xiyu's reputation plummeted. If he didn't withdraw voluntarily, an irreparable rift would emerge within the Wu Party; Yu Xin yuan was pushed out to salvage the situation.

  The Qu family bandit case was a major blunder by Chen Xiyuan, and it completely dashed the emperor's hopes for him. Yu Xin yuan may not be much inferior to Chen Xiyuan in terms of ability, but his reputation and experience were ultimately insufficient. The Qu family bandit case was a severe setback for the Wu Party.

  Li Zhuo was carelessly playing chess with Yu Xin Yuan and chatting while sitting, but Gao Zong Ting could see that he had a worried look on his face.

  Yu Xinyuan also secretly observed Li Zhuo and said casually: "Gu Wuchen's disciples built a village camp with refugees in Chongzhou, the villagers thought this was a bad start, what does General Li think about this?"

  "Slap!" Li Zhuo's piece landed heavily, and the wooden chessboard emitted a crisp sound. Li Zhuo withdrew his hand and said: "The memorial presented by the local government, the Xuanfu Temple copied a copy for me, the refugees were not born to be scattered people, the crowd gathered on Xiasha Island is mostly from Zhongzhou. Under the sky, there is no land that is not the king's land, and on the shore of the land, there are no people who are not the king's subjects. The people of Chongzhou are the king's subjects, aren't the people of Zhongzhou also the king's subjects? Furthermore, the refugees rely heavily on the land, let them settle down in Xiasha Island, and after a long time, they will become the people of Chongzhou. Moreover, before the founding of the country, Chongzhou was still a desolate beach, how many of the living people of Chongzhou were not immigrants from outside? I think it's better to treat this matter specially...". Afraid that Yu Xin Yuan would lose face, Li Zhuo added another sentence, saying "This is not a precedent..."

  Yu Xinyuan thought that Li Zhuo, when he was the Governor of Jiangxi, had recruited and employed bandits as his personal soldiers. Perhaps in his heart, he didn't have a good opinion about Lin Shuo's settlement in the migrant village. However, no matter what, Lin Shuo was a member of the Chu Party and the Gu family clan. Li Zhuo had done nothing in Jiangning and had a very tense relationship with the Chu Party. He approved of Lin Shuo's settlement on Xi Sha Island, which still came as a surprise to Yu Xinyuan.

  Yu Xinyuan thought to himself: In terms of local military preparations, the words of the Surveillance Commissioner carry the most weight. Gu Wudu had just taken up his new post as Surveillance Commissioner for Jiangdong, and it was indeed not convenient to get entangled in this matter at this time.

  "It seems that this matter can only be handled in a flexible manner," Yu Xinyuan said, "In addition, there is a rumor in the capital that Zhang Xie intends to increase the city tax to make up for the deficiency in the national treasury. What does General Li think about it?"

  Gao Zongting stood by silently, but he could guess a thing or two about Yu Xinyuan's thoughts: Chu Dang was going to try out the new market tax in the local area first to make up for the shortage of national treasury, and Yu Xinyuan was worried that Jiangdong Prefecture would be the first to bear the brunt due to Gu Wudu's relationship.

  Gao Zongting followed Li Zhuo in fighting in East Min for several years and knew that the first thing to manage an army was money and food.

  The disturbance of Liu An's rebellion extended to the four prefectures of Dongyang, Huai'an, Weiyang and Quzhou. The disaster of the Xiao family can only be said to have been slightly alleviated. It is not yet known how severe the pirate situation in Donghai will become. The threat from the Northern Line's Eastern Hu people is becoming increasingly serious. This summer, Huguang and Jiangxi are again experiencing a great disaster. Civil unrest is like a spark that can quickly turn into a raging fire if there is any relaxation. In this autumn of many troubles, the national treasury is insufficient - what can be used to eliminate such a huge hidden danger?

  Imposing additional taxes and surcharges on the common people will only lead to their unbearable burden and endless turmoil. The Chu Party's plan to shift the focus of taxation from land taxes to commercial taxes is correct in its overall direction, as it aims to alleviate the burden on the common people and make the local wealthy families and clans bear more responsibility. However, the idea of "plucking one hair to benefit the world" is easier said than done, as increasing commercial taxes will inevitably affect the fundamental interests of the wealthy families and clans, and the resistance will be enormous.

  Gao Zongting also couldn't see what Chu Dang could do in the central government, but he didn't know how to respond to Yu Xinyuan's question.

  Li Zhuo placed his hands on both sides of the wooden chessboard and said, "For many years, I have only been concerned with military affairs. As for replenishing the national treasury, my understanding is shallow, and I really don't have any clumsy views to offer..."

  Li Zhuo is already tired of the court's party struggles, but he has no power to break free. At present, nearly half of the Jiangdong Prefecture is plagued by war and banditry, which cannot be solved. He is willing to serve as a vanguard for the king, exhausting himself to the death without regret. However, it is a pity that the central government views him as a fierce tiger locked in Jiangning, only feeling at ease when he is contained. In his opinion, Yu Xin Yuan is not a capable person who can turn the tide. He has just replaced Chen Xiyan within the Wu Party and what he seeks to achieve is merely to restrict Gu Wudun, which can be further said to be restricting the Chu Party's infiltration and control over Jiangdong and the two Zhe provinces.

  This gathering can't be considered a joyful reunion. A game of chess was left unfinished with only a few pieces remaining, and Yu Xuan took his leave.

  Song Yu Xin Yuan went to the government gate, Li Zhuo said to Gao Zong Ting: "There is still a remaining game, you accompany me to finish it."

  Gao Zongting accompanied Li Zhuo back to the Fucui Pavilion and said, "Why not gather the pieces again and start a new game? There's no urgent official business to attend to today?"

  "Where can this fallen chess piece be picked up and put back in the box?" Li Zhuo sighed.

  Gao Zongting slightly stunned, knowing that Li Zhuo was worried about national affairs, just as Li Zhuo said, if this world could be completely overthrown and re-established, it would be much easier. He then fiddled with the chess pieces in his hand.

  "I'm worried about the Huai'an direction," Li Zhuo said, holding a chess piece in his hand without making a move, and speaking to Gao Zongting who had followed him for many years. "Liu An'er's troops have been lurking at Hongze Pu for over two months, and at this critical moment, the Longhuai Town garrison is not even getting enough pay. Although there have been occasional reports of victories from Zuo Shangrong, the longer it takes, the more I worry about the Huai'an direction. If Huai'an falls, the Hongze Pu rebels will join forces with those in Huaiyang and Zhongzhou, and all the progress we made in eliminating bandits this spring will be undone in an instant. The horse thieves and robbers who have been hiding or retreated to the mountains in Huaiyang and Zhongzhou due to the elimination of bandits will become active again, and may even form a more powerful force. The situation in the central plains may be ten times more severe than before..."

  "Donghai bandits are also worried," Gao Zongting said, "At this time I hope Ninghaitown will suffer a great defeat..."

  "Do you think that if the Ninghai naval forces are defeated, the court will use me?" Li Zhuo asked Gao Zongting. He looked at Gao Zongting for a moment, shook his head first, and said, "If the Ninghai naval forces lose, it only further proves that the garrison troops have become useless, and the court will naturally not take the Jiangning naval forces to take risks. Gu Wuchen is in Jiangdong, he will advise the court to increase the scale of training local militia... I think his idea is still feasible, the key is to find the right person. The Battle of Hekou, you saw it with your own eyes, how is Lin Xuan's military skills?"

  "Gu Wu Chen took Lin Fu as a knife, but he may not be willing to use him. To put it bluntly, Lin Fu's edges are too sharp," said Gao Zong Ting. "After the River Mouth incident, Lin Fu went to Xi Sha Island for disaster relief and to Tai Hu to raise grain, and also participated in the Tai Hu bandit suppression. Now he has again taken the initiative to form a local militia on Xi Sha Island. Although it was temporarily suppressed, not one thing was done according to the rules..."

  "We've been playing too much by the rules..." Li Zhuo sighed, tapping the chess piece gently on the board.

  Gao Zongting knew that Li Zhuo had some regrets about handing over all the military power, and he was like a tiger locked in a cage in Jiangning. No matter how capable he was, he could not do anything about the current crisis facing Jiangdong Prefecture. Moreover, Chu Dang would not give Li Zhuo an opportunity to increase his prestige. He sighed slightly and said: "Lin Xie's governance of the army should be the top priority. Although this person has a lot of ambition, his fundamental goal is also to stabilize people's livelihoods, and many things are secretly opposed to the Xiao family. It can be used, but he lacks experience. If we just secretly promote him, I'm afraid it won't have much effect."

  "It's not necessarily ineffective, it depends on how you lift it," Li Zhuo said. "Gu Wu Chen is now the Provincial Governor, do you think he will endure for how long before formally petitioning to open a prison in Jiangdong?"

  "Stronghold?" Gao Zongting's eyes lit up, and he smiled, saying, "Ginger is still spicy when it's old, I really didn't think of using a sword to take an unconventional path and launch a surprise attack."

  Lin Xie took up the post of Jin Chuan Yu Dao Si Yu, and Gu Wu Chen was like opening a prison city. The head of the prison city was none other than Lin Xie.

  Li Zhuo smiled slightly and said: "This strategy is feasible, but it can only make the east side slightly more stable...it also depends on whether Lin Xuan is really useful..."