People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 782 Provoke civil strife and let the Yuan family clean up themselves
Hezhou, on the western frontier of Longyou, has a favorable terrain.

Under the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it was the most important strategic logistics place for the Tang Dynasty's westward expansion.

It borders Taozhou to the east, Diezhou to the south, Kuozhou to the west, and Lanzhou to the north. It governs six counties: Linxia, ​​Xiahe, Yongjing, Guanghe, Hezheng, and Kangle.

……

In the afternoon, Li Xuan led his army across the Rouge River and arrived at Kangle. The army was stationed outside the north gate of the county.

Standing at the gate of the camp, flanked by right-guard soldiers who were setting up camp.
Li Xuan, dressed in red and golden armor, sincerely raised her hands to Huang Yu, the magistrate of Kangle County who had come to greet him earlier: "Thank you very much for your county's preparation of everything. It will be very convenient for your guard to be stationed here temporarily."

Huang Yu, who was wearing a light green official robe and was in his early forties, bowed his hands to Li Xuan with a calm and indifferent expression: "The prince has given you too much praise. Everything is a matter for the lower official. If the prince has something to do, he will send people to the city to give orders." As soon as I heard it, the official came immediately."

Li Xuan gave a rare gentle nod, cupped her hands and said, "Go slowly to your county."

After watching the Kangle County Magistrate return to the county with his police officers, Li Xuan returned to the camp.

Di Renjie, who had not shown up before, was sitting a few steps behind the tent on the east side of the tent.

Looking up at Li Xuan, Di Renjie said with a slight smile: "This County Magistrate Huang is really a good official. He dared to block the prince from the county seat and prevent the army from entering the city. He is really brave and loves the people like a son. Four words, used on him, are just right."

Li Xuan did not refute Di Renjie, Huang County Magistrate was indeed a good official.

Even in Taozhou to the east, Huang Yu's reputation is still very good.

Li Xuan and the others met many local people in Kangle along the way, and they all praised him.

"Kangle is one of the important places for the transportation of food and equipment for the army. Although Youwei does not need to enter the city, some roads along the way still need to be repaired. Linxia and Hezheng counties in the west are just that. The key is the mountains in the south. Lintan in the middle also needs to transport grain and grass from here. Smooth roads are very important and require a lot of effort to improve." Li Xuan looked solemn, his attention was not on Huang Yu, but on the transport road in Kangle County. superior.

Although they are very reluctant, it is difficult for the army to march without disturbing the people.

Even if Li Xuan was considerate, the most he could do was prevent the army from entering the county.

As for the villages below, when the large army, food and equipment are being transferred, the people must give way.

"As long as proper arrangements are made, this kind of thing can still be coordinated." Di Renjie glanced at Li Xuan, then looked solemn, put the chapter in his hand on the table, then gently handed it forward and said: " Having said that, the prince is in quite a lot of trouble in Hezhou this time."

"Weizhou Yuan family!" Li Xuan walked to the front and sat down on the short table, looking at Di Renjie: "It is still hard for me to believe that there is such a deep connection between the Yuan family and Tubo."

"Although it is a bit surprising, there is no problem with this confession." Di Renjie put one hand on the memorial with a serious expression.

It records all the secrets about Hezhou that Zhang Qiniang knows, and it is also the key piece of evidence that she can use to exonerate herself and advance to the next level.

"Is there no problem at all?" Li Xuan frowned and looked at Di Renjie and said, "Everything Zhang Qiniang said was what she heard and saw herself. There will inevitably be errors in it. If there is really no problem in it, , so Yuanshi is too courageous?"

"Why, the prince still doesn't believe it?" Di Renjie looked at Li Xuan with a half-smile.

Li Xuan shook her head slightly and said, "It's not that I don't believe it, but I'm just not sure how much of it is true and believable?"

"In the past hundred years, the Yuan family has had four people in Hezhou, and they have served as governor of Hezhou for six times. Their roots have been firmly established in Hezhou for a long time. However, they have their own interests, which are different from those of the imperial court and His Majesty. , even outright hostile many times.

Interest bias, even within the Yuan clan, different people have different ideas, and the statement of the three forces is reasonable. "Di Renjie couldn't help but look at Li Xuan with admiration, and he didn't know how he got Zhang Qiniang to speak.

"Zhang Qiniang said that there are three factions within the Yuan family, the faction of Yuan Ming, the governor of Hezhou, the faction of his cousin Yuan Xu, and one that even Zhang Qiniang doesn't know about." Li Xuan sighed softly and said: " If that is the case, then it will be really difficult to deal with him in Hezhou."

"The three branches of the Yuan family actually all originated from several governors before the Yuan family. With the change of dynasties, the branches declined. The successful ones occupied high positions and the defeated ones were trapped in the mud. This is the current situation of the Yuan family, and it is also why the Yuan family The reason for not being able to clean yourself.

When they were in decline, they had all been associated with Tubo and had taken advantage of Tubo. Everyone knew each other's ins and outs and could not blame them. "Di Renjie calmly analyzed everything about the Yuan family.

"On the surface, it seems that we cannot allow the Yuan family to continue to exist at all, but unfortunately, we cannot completely eliminate him. A slight mistake will immediately affect the logistics of the entire army. It is really troublesome. ." Li Xuan frowned tightly.

The troublesome part of the Yuan family was still beyond his expectations.

"So, isn't the official here?" Di Renjie had a smile on his face. He didn't just follow Li Xuan to Hezhou casually.

He is in Hezhou and has his own mission and tasks.

"The grain reselling case in Taozhou." Li Xuan raised his head and glanced at Di Renjie. He knew clearly that Di Renjie followed the grain reselling cases in Taozhou and other nearby states all the way to Hezhou.

After all, transporting large-scale grain and grass from Taozhou and other nearby states to Tubo must pass through Hezhou.

The participation and assistance of people in Hezhou are indispensable.

It's a big case to really get to the bottom of.

But Di Renjie's arrival is not just that.

Looking sideways at Li Xuan, Di Renjie said: "The affairs above the prefectures and counties in Hezhou are dealt with by the princes. The one who takes action is Yuanxu, the cousin of Yuanming, the governor of Hezhou. All the money of the entire Yuan family is under his control. In the hands of the Yuanxu family, if he is discovered, the affairs of the Yuan family will be clear."

"Is it a private visit incognito?" Li Xuan immediately guessed what Di Renjie wanted to do.

Avoiding other people's eyes, he quietly lurked among Li Xuan's army in order not to let others know that he had arrived in Hezhou.

For those who really paid attention to the court, Yuanming, the governor of Hezhou, knew best how capable Di Renjie, the prime minister of Dali Temple, was.

But unfortunately, no one knows that Di Renjie likes to visit privately incognito. "Seize the key, Yuan Xu, and find out all the filth of the entire Yuan family in Hezhou." Di Renjie raised his head and looked at Li Xuan, his eyes cold.

Li Xuan was sitting behind the shorter one with a calm expression. He was good at arresting people and killing people. He was not bad at these aspects either.

"You still have to be careful." Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said thoughtfully: "Finding these is only the first step. The second step is to find out the crime of the individual. The third step is to arrest and prosecute. The Yuan family operates in Hezhou For many years, Bingcao, Kucao and Hucao have been controlled by him; and not only the few who joined the army on the surface, but even the lieutenants and officials below have probably all surrendered to the Yuan family. We don't know at all. You must be careful about how many people there are in the Yuan family, both openly and secretly."

"Then what does the prince plan to do?" Di Renjie looked at Li Xuan curiously. As the prime minister of Dali Temple, he wanted to act in Hezhou, and Li Xuan's attitude was very important.

"The war is coming, the Yuan family cannot be in chaos."

Li Xuan's words set the tone. Di Renjie wanted to say something, but he still waited a moment.

Li Xuan can naturally see clearly the threat of the Yuan family, and he will not let it go.

Li Xuan sat behind the shorter table, looked at Di Renjie, and said solemnly: "If you want to clean up the hidden dangers of the Yuan family and keep the Yuan family from chaos, then there is only one way, let the Yuan family clean up themselves. Only the Yuan family has the talent Hezhou knows best, so whether it is before or after, those who are in charge of those things must still be people from the Yuan family, but these people must draw a clear line with Tubo and fully surrender to the imperial court, so that the overall situation of the Western Expedition will not change. It will be chaotic.”

"Instigate civil strife in the Yuan family and let the Yuan family clean up themselves." Di Renjie looked at Li Xuan solemnly, his expression serious.

After a moment, Di Renjie spoke: "Your Majesty, this matter is not easy. It takes time, and in the end some people need to be exonerated."

"The Yuan family is naturally guilty, but as the Yuan family, the eight discussions are still enough. When the time comes, the merits will be discussed." Li Xuan filled in the last loophole.

The imperial court originally had the system of "Eight Discussions": discussing relatives, discussing old friends, discussing talents, discussing abilities, discussing merits, discussing nobles, discussing diligence, and discussing guests.

The Yuan family can only get it through merit.

The so-called merit does not offset the fault, but it is because your status is not enough and you cannot meet the "Eight Discussions" system at all; if you have enough merit, the merit can be offset.

How much crime the Yuan family has committed must be offset by how much credit they have made. This is fair.

The prince committed the same crime as the common people, but the same crime was punished differently.

This sentence comes from "Historical Records·Biographies of Shang Jun": "The prince violated the law. Wei Yang said: If the law does not work, break it from above."

But there is another saying in it: "The prince will be punished. The prince, the heir of the king, is not allowed to impose punishments. He will punish his master Gongzi Qian and tattoo his master Gongsun Jia."

Di Renjie, who was well versed in history books, certainly understood this. The prince was not only a prince, but also represented a real nobleman. This was the later "eight discussions" system.

After a moment, Di Renjie drew his bottom line with a solemn expression: "Then, all the crimes they committed need to be investigated clearly."

"Don't worry, none of the damned people will survive." Li Xuan smiled slightly, but her eyes were extremely cold.

Di Renjie finally felt relieved.

……

Before dawn, Li Xuan stood in front of the gate of the camp, faced Di Renjie and the other three men in black, and said seriously: "Brother Huaiying, be careful."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, Mr. Di is quite good at this, please take care, Your Majesty." Di Renjie returned the salute, then turned around and headed towards the city with two followers.

During a private visit incognito, Li Xuan stood in the light to attract the Yuan family's attention, while Di Renjie secretly investigated the Yuan family's crimes.

Although Li Xuan said that he would not perform major surgery on the Yuan family, but only on Hezhou, after everything, the disposal of the Yuan family was jointly decided by the emperor, Yushitai, Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment.

If Di Renjie really wants to hold on to someone, no one can protect him.

Even if there were eight arguments, Di Renjie could justifiably kill him using the law.

Di Renjie has this ability.

Li Xuan turned around and walked in the silent camp. The snoring in the tent began to grow deeper all night long.

Li Xuan smiled, then turned and walked towards his tent.

From a distance, Li Xuan saw a strange figure standing in front of the tent. He was slightly startled and stepped forward.

Huang Yu, the magistrate of Kangle County, wearing a green official robe, stood in front of the door.

"The lower official Huang Yu has met the prince."

Huang Yu bowed his hands to Li Xuan with a solemn expression.

Li Xuan looked at Huang Yu and frowned tightly: "Magistrate Huang, this is a military camp. How did you get in?"

There are rules in the military camp, and any outsider who enters must be notified, even the county magistrate and governor, there are no exceptions.

"Your Majesty!" Huang Yu bowed slightly, and then handed over a token. Li Xuan reached out to take it, glanced at it, and was shocked. This was the Nanchang Wang Ling.

This is Li Xuan's own token. Apart from Li Xuan carrying it with him, only Li Xuan's most trusted subordinates can use it to act.

Wait, there is another person who can use it, and that is Li Xuan's princess, Sanniang Liu Jinyu.

(End of this chapter)