A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 712: The princes who open the door, the emperor who closes the door
Just returned to Chang'an,

Liu Rengui came to see him.

He has been in Chang'an these days. Sanyuan County's trial of the new two-tax law was very successful, and he also had a share of the credit.

Nowadays, the word "inspecting the school" has been omitted.

"I heard that General Su is going to Nanzhong to be the governor of Yaozhou, and I also want to go with him."

Huaiyu was a little surprised.
"Nanzhong is very remote."

"Yeah. I know,"

Nanzhong, since the Han Dynasty, refers to the south of the Dadu River in Sichuan, as well as Yunnan and Guizhou. It is south of Bashu, so it is named Nanzhong. Zhuge Liang of the Shu Han Dynasty flattened Nanzhong, and divided it into Ning and Yuexi to establish Yunnan County, and then divided it into Ning. , Zangke established Xinggu County, and finally seven counties in Nanzhong were formed: Zangke, Yueqi, Zhuti, Jianning, Yongchang, Yunnan, and Xinggu.

The Shu Han established a commander-in-chief here.

During the Sui Dynasty, the northern part of Yunnan south of the Jinsha River and north of the Ailao Mountain was called Nanning.

Nanzhong is larger and Nanning is slightly smaller, but no matter what it is called, in the eyes of the Central Plains people, this area is barbaric.

The Yaozhou Governor's Mansion of the Tang Dynasty was most of Yunnan County, one of the seven counties in the southern part of the Shu-Han Dynasty, and also included the Dianchi Lake and Kunming area in the west of Jianning County.

"The new two-tax law will be implemented in the entire Yongzhou region after the year. You performed very well in Sanyuan this time, and His Majesty will use you again."

Huaiyu also treated Liu Rengui as one of his own.
“The imperial court wants to expand the ten realms of the world to fifteen realms, among which the Guannai Way will be divided into a Gyeonggi Province, which will govern Yongzhou, as well as six states including Hua, Tong, Qi, Yi, and Shang.

Each road will be divided into a transfer envoy department and a branch envoy department. The transfer envoy department will handle the wealth of the longitude, and the branch envoy department will be in charge of Changpingcang, market changes, new laws, water conservancy and other matters. "

It turns out that each of the ten realms in the world has set up a branch to be in charge of wealth, warehousing, new laws, transportation, trading, etc., which means they have a lot of power.

Now the imperial court is going to be divided,
It is divided into the Transshipment Department and the Permanent Branch Department, one is in charge of wealth and water transportation, and the other is in charge of warehousing and trading.

In the name of transport envoy and interviewer, he has the duty of supervision and observes the county magistrates in Dao Neizhou.

The branch envoys also have supervisory duties.
The two departments are not subordinate to each other, but have equal status. Each has an independent agency and is affiliated with a different central agency. For the states and counties under the lower road, they are only responsible for that part of their responsibilities.

The two departments also have the responsibility of supervising each other.

Anyway, there are now more than 300 states and more than 500 counties in the world, as well as a large number of prefectures and counties. It is really difficult for the central government to directly control those states and counties, especially the areas of wealth and new laws are more complicated.

Nowadays, in order to enhance efficiency, it is necessary to establish an agency at the road level as a central agency, but it is not the same as a state or county. It is a true first-level administrative agency, unlike the previous Xingtai Shangshu Ling. The power is huge and will not threaten the central government.

Regardless of whether it is the Transshipment Department or the Branch Department, it is mainly granted a little supervisory power in the areas of water transportation, warehousing, taxation, and market transactions.

However, they are not authorized to do so in terms of military affairs, justice, or even administration.

Both the Transportation Department and the Zhidu Department are under the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Shangshu Province.
The chiefs of the second division of each province all belong to the third rank, which is the same as the rank of the governor of the state. The officials of Zuo Er, deputy envoy, chief historian, and Sima of the second division are the fourth and fifth grades respectively.

It's roughly the same as the Lower Governor's Mansion or Shangzhou, except that they only manage a section, not a block.

Liu Rengui was very capable, and Wu Huaiyu also admired him very much, so he strongly recommended him. Li Shimin was also quite satisfied with him, and his name was written on the screen of the emperor's office.

It can be regarded as an official who has reached Tianting directly.

This time ten roads will be changed into fifteen, especially when one department in each road will be changed into two departments, a lot of new officials will be added. More importantly, this is a particularly rare opportunity.

The newly separated Gyeonggi Province will also have a new Gyeonggi Province Transfer Envoy Department and a Gyeonggi Province Branch Envoy Department. Wu Huaiyu plans to recommend Liu Rengui as a deputy envoy and take this opportunity to promote him to the fourth rank, even if he inspects the school first.

He is now a sixth-rank Yuanwailang, and he has served as a sixth-rank Ji county magistrate before. It is acceptable to have the prime minister's recommendation and the emperor's special order.

If that doesn't work, you can first arrange to become a chief historian or Sima in the Taoist Department. You can push your rank to the fifth rank first. It's just a matter of training for a few more years, and then you can be promoted to deputy envoy.

In the future, if you successfully become a Taoist priest, you can also be promoted to a governor, then a governor, and then enter the court again, whether as a doctor or a minister. This is the path to the prime minister.

"Thank you for your support, but rather than going to Gyeonggi Province to be a transshipment or branch secretary, or to be a long history or Sima, I would rather go to Yaozhou,"

"It's remote over there, and there might be a war."

"I talked to General Su and found out that General Su went with a mission this time, so I want to go even more."

Huaiyu smiled,
Build a career.

Liu Rengui has a very repaying heart. If he stays in Gyeonggi and follows the steps, he will be able to achieve results, and his promotion may be smoother, but Liu Rengui still wants to do something more.

"Have you thought about it?"

"Thought it out,"

Huaiyu still reminded him, "You know in Nanzhong, the Sui Dynasty established the Nanning Prefecture General Administration in the fourth year of Kaihuang's reign, appointed the Cuan nobles and the chiefs of various tribes as governors, and implemented the Jizu rule. However, after the Cuan family rebelled twice, the Sui Dynasty Troops were sent to suppress it, and both King Cuan and his son Cuan Hongda were sent to Chang'an.

At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, I began to reorganize the business, resettled Nanning Prefecture, and appointed Cuan Hongda as the governor of Kunzhou, allowing him to take his father's remains back to his hometown for burial. After his return, he led his troops to surrender to the imperial court. By the third year of Wude, , all tribes in Cuandi, including Wuman and Baiman, all surrendered to the imperial court.
So the Nanning Dudu Mansion governed sixteen states. "

The governor of Nanning Prefecture has always been the Cuan family since the establishment of Wude. The Tang Dynasty Jisi ruled. On the surface, it seemed that the Zhu Cuans were surrendering. In fact, the Tang Dynasty never stopped conquering the Cuan land.

During his tenure, Dou Gui, the governor of Yizhou, recruited Zuo, Qiong, Yelang, and Kunmi. He crossed the Lu River several times to conquer Buchen, and he sacrificed many prisoners and gained a lot.When Cheng Yaojin became the governor of Luzhou, he not only suppressed the Luzhou Tieshan barbarians hard, but also sent troops to conquer the Wumeng Mountain barbarians in the south who were under the governor's office of Nanning Prefecture.

The Cuan family openly submitted to the imperial court, but secretly they were always at war with the imperial court, but they did not raise the flag publicly.

That’s why the Zhenguan Dynasty separated Nanning Prefecture’s Dudu’s Mansion into Yaozhou’s Dudu’s Mansion.

In fact, the imperial court actually intended to replace Nanning Prefecture Dudu's Palace with Yaozhou Dudu's Palace.

For example, Kunzhou in the Dianchi Lake area is now divided into chaos. Nanning Prefecture Dudufu and Yaozhou Dudufu both seem to govern Kunzhou.

Of course, on the surface, the imperial court established the Yaozhou Dudufu and the Nanning Prefecture Dudufu because the internal fighting between the Cuan clan has become fiercer in recent years, so two new Dudufus were established according to the eastern and western Cuan clan camps.

Originally, the Cuan family accepted this. Anyway, the Cuan family was at odds with the east and west, and the split was a fact. It would be better to have a governor's office each.

But they didn't expect that the imperial court first told them to divide the governor's office into two, but after the Yaozhou governor's office was established, the court would send Tang officials to be the governors.

This is what it means to change one's native land and return to one's current position.

This matter made the Cuan family dissatisfied, and both the East and West Cuan families were dissatisfied.

Regardless of whether you are satisfied or dissatisfied, the imperial court is advancing in a planned and step-by-step manner. Now that the Yaozhou Governor's Office has been officially established, Su Lie has been selected as the governor, and troops have to be sent to lead him there. This means that they are ready for hard work.

So there must be a battle.

The imperial court planned to unite with Meng Shezhao and others to first defeat the Cuan family in the west of Dian Lake, which is now the Yaozhou Dudu Mansion, then drive them to the east of Dian Lake, and compress them into the Nanning Prefecture Dudu Mansion, east and west of Nanpanjiang River. as a boundary,

Let’s deal with Yaozhou first, where the Cuan clan’s power is slightly weaker.

At that time, the imperial court had the Luzhou Governor's Mansion in the north and the Yaozhou Governor's Mansion in the west. With the Yizhou Governor's Mansion at its back, the Cuan family was slowly uprooted.

After the Cuan family was eliminated, the imperial court not only had to build a north-south and east-west communication line, but also opened a water and land road from Yunnan to Jiaozhou Haikou.

The plan is grand, but to realize such a plan in a barbaric place like Nanzhong, the process will definitely be very difficult, and it may overturn at any time.

"Although I am a civil servant, I have some experience in military affairs and have practiced some riding and archery skills. I am not afraid of conquering and suppressing the southern barbarians."

Zhuge Liang conquered the Southern Barbarians and captured Meng Huo seven times.

"The establishment of the Yaozhou Dudu's Mansion is different from the original Nanning Prefecture Dudu's Mansion. It is not to appease the Southern barbarians, but to suppress the Cuan family, and even to open up the southwest tea and horse trade routes. It is a silk War, understand?”

This is the core, the essence.

Just like when Zhuge Liang went deep into Bu Mao to conquer the Southern Barbarians, in essence the Southern Barbarians rebelled against the Shu Han. The ultimate goal was not to overthrow the rule of the Shu Han, but to obtain Yongchang County, a major commercial area in the west, to monopolize the Sino-Western trade and obtain high trade profits.

Moreover, the people who led the rebellion had nothing to do with the local barbarians. They were all powerful Han people from Nanzhong. It was just a Silk War.

The Central Plains' development of Nanzhong can be traced back to the time of Qin Shihuang. For example, after Lu Buwei failed in the political struggle and committed suicide, Yingzheng sent Lu Buwei's family to Shuzhong. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty developed Southwest Yi, and the Lu family moved to Baoshan to take root.
When Yizhou County was first established in Nanzhong, it had jurisdiction over 24 counties, including Buwei County. When Ailao was attached to the country in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Buwei County and seven other counties merged into Yongchang County, and the Lu family has been in charge of it for generations. With Yongchang County officials, he became the largest Han wealthy family in Yongchang.

Many wealthy families with big surnames in the Central Plains moved south, took root in the south, and became more and more powerful. The Yong, Zhu, Jiao, Meng, etc.
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he once planned to open a trade route to the Shendu country through the southwestern Yi region. This Shendu country was Tianzhu.

Yongchang is an important transit point for Bashu to reach India, and has even become the largest foreign trade center in the southwest region. Raw silk and Shu brocade from Shu pass through Yongchang, heading west to Myanmar and India, and then via Afghanistan to Persia and Rome.

This Southwest Silk Road later became the Ancient Tea Horse Road.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, an official in Yongchang could be rich for ten generations. The local area was rich in agate, jade and other jewelry. Coupled with the large silk trade, countless Han people came here.

It can be said that this was actually a very early colonial development.

During the reign of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Yongchang County became the second largest county in the country, second only to Nanyang in population.

Until now,
Yongchang has lost its former glory, and even under the Cuan family's deliberate isolation, Nanzhong has become closed and backward. However, there is a foundation for prosperity here, especially the ancient Silk Road of the Han Dynasty, which the court attaches great importance to.

Why build Yaozhou Dudufu in the west first?
It is necessary to open up this Silk Road first. During the Han Dynasty, it passed through Yongchang, followed the Irrawaddy River (called the Great Jinsha River or Lishui in Chinese) by water, sailed out of the Bay of Bengal to India, and connected with the Indian Ocean Channel.

Because of the Southwest Silk Road, countless Han people went south, and as a result, Han Chinese wealthy families emerged one after another there. Just like the Americans' Western Development, they plunged into the Southwest with dreams and fought against the local southwest barbarians. ,

In the blink of an eye, it has been six or seven hundred years.

The same is true for the Cuan family. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Cuan family moved to Nanzhong to escape the chaos with the Central Plains surname. Originally a Ban family, they were granted the land of Cuan and took Cuan as their surname. After years of hard work, they integrated with the southwestern barbarians and finally rose to prominence. Become the King of South Central.

Now, the imperial court is competing with the wealthy families led by the Cuan family for the dominance of Nanzhong.

The Cuan clan and others used ghost witches to rule the barbarians, and their jurisdictions varied in size. There were big ghost lords, small ghost lords, etc. Cuan Hongda, the governor of Nanning Prefecture and the governor of Kunzhou, was the leader of the big ghost lords.

Although the Cuan family was greatly reduced in strength after being attacked by the Sui Dynasty, and even King Cuan was sent to Chang'an as a slave, which led to more intense internal fighting between the East and West Cuan,
But a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. The Cuan family can become an open prince among so many wealthy families in Nanzhong.
If Su Lie goes to Yaozhou, he will have to use swords and fire to open the way, station troops and build forts to gain a foothold, and then reopen the Silk Road.

"I have been prepared for ten years, and I am willing to fight in Yaozhou for ten years to open up territory for the Tang Dynasty and reopen the Southwest Silk Road." Liu Rengui raised a finger, "If I don't succeed in ten years, it will take 20 or 30 years."

"Okay, since you are so ambitious, I will recommend you to your Majesty as the Governor of Yaozhou,"

The commander-in-chief, Su Lie, is from the third rank, and the long history is Liu Rengui. From the fifth rank, Liu Renyuan is the sixth-rank general, and Xinu Aluo is the seventh-rank captain.

(End of this chapter)