Han Shizu

Chapter 1622 Xizhou
Kaibao 20 years (982), Xia Siyue, Hedong Road, Xizhou.

Xizhou is under the rule of Hedong. It is a large state in the east, west and south of Hedong. Geographically, it belongs to the hinterland of the Han Empire. However, in the eyes of many people, this place is a remote village, although it is true.

Thirty years ago, Emperor Liu personally conquered the Southern Tang Dynasty. After taking Huainan triumphantly, he took great strides to solve the internal vassal problems. The emperor's uncle Liu Chong, who controlled Hedong, naturally became a typical example.

With the help of various methods, Hedong has also completely and thoroughly become a state under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, which is one of the signs of the Han Dynasty's promotion of centralization.Afterwards, Emperor Liu wrote Fan Zhi the governor of Hedong, and carried out a large-scale system reform in the whole territory of Hedong, cutting down the state and merging the government, which was one of the main measures.

Xizhou was also merged into the Daning Mansion at that time, but such affiliation only lasted for ten years.After the unification of the north and the south and the reunification of the world, Emperor Liu conducted a comprehensive merger of Daozhou, prefectures and counties across the country in the Zhengshitang.

Daning Mansion is, after all, a product of special circumstances, and the local politics, economy, geography, and people's sentiments make it really unqualified to set up a mansion.Let's take a look at the places where the big man is now buying mansions. Take Hedong as an example, there is only one Taiyuan mansion.

From the perspective of administrative level, the state capital belongs to the same level, but in the concept of all officials of the Han Dynasty, the state capital is higher than the state. This point has now been clarified and written in the "Hanhuidian".

Therefore, after Daning Prefecture was abolished, Xizhou was resettled and became an independent administrative region again.Xizhou is located at the southern end of the Luliang Mountains. On the Shanxi Plateau, there are overlapping mountain ridges and ravines. Although it is close to the Yellow River, it is short of resources and backward in economy. It is an out-and-out poor place, and it is relatively closed. Foreign merchants arrive.

Similarly, the law and order in this place is also relatively poor. There are troublesome people in the poor mountains and rivers. In order to compete for survival resources, the struggle between the villages has never stopped. Every year, there will be armed fights, resulting in casualties, and it is difficult for the government to cure them.

Up to now, the Xizhou government is actually in a state of laissez-faire, the place is already poor enough, and it is necessary to restrain the people with severe punishments, and the local officials feel that it is unnecessary.

The storehouses are full and know the etiquette. For the local officials in Xizhou, the common people are hard to eat, let alone social harmony and good-neighborly friendship. of.

The current prosperity and strength of the big Han will always be at an overall level. In some areas, such as poor and remote areas like Xizhou, it is not easy for ordinary Guizhou leaders to live comfortably.

And if poverty is poverty, at least a relatively stable environment is maintained. There is no war, and every household can still guard the mountains, rivers, fields, and soil.

In recent years, in the villages of Xizhou, the most anticipated thing is probably the notice of the imperial court recruiting soldiers.Today's big men, the threshold for being a soldier is also constantly rising. After all, the number of soldiers is being reduced year by year. The number is small, and the requirements for quality are also high.

As for the conscripts of the big Han, in addition to those rich and good families, they are now more and more fond of farmers and mountain people in these impoverished areas. After all, they are easier to feed, more obedient, and easier to brainwash.As for the unruly people, they can get rid of any problems by walking around in the army. The Han army, more than 30 years, has not changed much, that is, military discipline and military law. by the hundreds.

It happened two years ago. Sun Yongzhen, the grandson of Pingyuan Gongsunli, and Ma Jiyuan, the nephew of Leling Hou Ma Renyu, had a drunken conflict. Both of them were officers of the imperial army. After returning to the camp, they led their subordinate officers and soldiers to fight together. .

There were not many people involved, only about [-] people in total, but the matter was very serious. According to the military law of the Han Dynasty, without military orders, troops were mobilized without authorization and punished as treason, let alone in the capital, or for personal grievances.

As a result, all the officers and soldiers involved in the brawl were killed, including the officers and guards who were on duty that day, and more than [-] people were directly implicated and punished.As for Ma Renyu, he was the deputy commander of the guards, so he resigned and was demoted to Yunnan by Emperor Liu.

As for his grandson, Pingyuan Gongsunli, who was already very old, didn't even dare to say a word of intercession, but could only watch his grandson's body being separated with tears in his eyes.

For the children of mountain farmers in Xizhou, the army is a rare opportunity to change their lives. Among other things, they can at least have enough food and clothing. Even if they are just serving as a regiment for training, it is better than planing food in the ravines.

As for military discipline, and even going out to fight, it is really insignificant compared with hunger and cold.The number of enlisted soldiers in Xizhou every year has also become a bargaining chip for the Xizhou government to coordinate rural conflicts.Anyone who refuses to obey discipline will be deprived of this treatment. Although the military department is mainly responsible for conscription, the local government still has a certain say.

However, poor is poor, poor is poor. As far as Xizhou is concerned, it is relatively stable. Although troubles cannot be avoided, this place is not enough attention. Even the directly subordinate Hedong Road rarely pays attention to this place. Not to mention the height of the temple.

This kind of backcountry has been like this since ancient times, and the poor are used to being poor. The ancestors can survive, and today's Qianshou can do the same.

From the perspective of the Xizhou government, it is one aspect that the lives of the poor in civilian clothes are difficult, but it does not hinder their enjoyment, nor does it affect their authority. The state government of Xizhou is quite grand.

Being poor also has its advantages. The pressure of competition is low. At the same time, it is convenient to ask for aid, policies, and favors from Hedong Road and the imperial court. The biggest benefits of this naturally fall on these bureaucrats.

It is also because of this that places like Xizhou are most likely to have local emperors, corruption, and violations of law and discipline.The imperial court has been engaged in official administration for decades, and has achieved a lot of achievements. In general, the places where major cases and fraudulent cases occur are certainly those rich places, but in terms of deep, profound, dark, and cruel, they have to be The poorer these backwaters, the worse the situation.

The former Zhizhou Wang Yin of Xizhou was found out by Lu Duoxun. During his six-year tenure, he was listed with 53 crimes, big and small. Basically, a "earth emperor" could commit all crimes. What was not listed, It's just enough to sentence him to death to save time.

The newly appointed magistrate of Xizhou, named Zhang Wei, once served in Wei Wangfu, and was one of the tutors of Wei Wang Liu Min, and Xizhou was his second real job.

However, even if such a scholar-bureaucrat who is well-educated and caring for the common people takes office in Xizhou, the local situation still has not fundamentally changed.

The people are still poor, and when natural disasters strike, famine is still inevitable, but, relying on the face of knowing the state, they can ask for more preferential policies.

At the same time, because of the weakness of the literati, he is good at education, advocates morality, and does not want to punish the people harshly, which makes the security situation in Xizhou even more chaotic.

Within the prefectural and county towns, harmony can still be maintained, which is what Zhang Zhizhou expects to educate the people, but the vast rural areas and mountains outside the city, the political power has long been weakened, and the government seems to have gradually abandoned those who once Leveraged rural governance.

Why bother? It's troublesome and hard work. Isn't it good to be your own official in the county town?

(End of this chapter)