Great Han Empire

Chapter 684
The general's personal expedition to Youzhou was opposed by many people.

Zhang Wen, Zhao Qi, and Cai Yong successively approached Li Hong and asked him to think carefully.The journey to Youzhou is far away, and the war may not end soon. If the general stays in Youzhou for more than half a year, it will be very detrimental to the stability and development of Jizhou.Now there is great resistance to the implementation of the New Deal, and the support and deterrence of the general is urgently needed.Once the general leaves, the implementation of the New Deal will definitely come to a standstill.

Li Hong's attitude is very firm. At present, the pacification of Youzhou is more important than anything else. If Youzhou cannot be captured quickly, Jizhou will not be able to stabilize and develop.

In desperation, Zhao Qi simply stated clearly, "Once you leave, Jizhou will be in chaos."

Jizhou now has several worries that need to be solved urgently.

One is the implementation of the New Deal.The implementation of the New Deal involves many aspects such as land, taxation, selection, farming and water conservancy, etc. Among them, land and taxation are the most conflicting. Because they directly involve the interests of different classes, conflicts are increasing day by day. The antagonism among them became more and more serious.

The second is Tuntian.The villages in Jizhou are all civilian villages, which involve many issues, including relief and resettlement of refugees, reasonable arrangement of farm materials, tax reduction and exemption for farmland, dispersal of farmland areas and cooperation between counties and counties, etc. These issues used to be very good in northern Xinjiang However, when we arrived in Jizhou, things changed unexpectedly.First of all, there are many refugees, including most of the people who have just moved south from the northern frontier counties. They would rather wait for relief than go to farm.These people are very smart. They calculated an account. If they want to lease the land of the government office, they have to pay the land rent, repay the money for borrowing the seeds and farm tools from the government office, and pay various temporary apportionment fees. , such as the money for repairing the ditches, and in addition to doing corvée. In this way, almost all the harvest of the year is handed over to the government office. If you want to post back, who is willing to do it?It's better to idle around and wait for relief every day.

Why didn't this happen when we farmed in northern Xinjiang?When farming in northern Xinjiang, the imperial court considered that northern Xinjiang was barren and the land yields were low, so it decreed to exempt farmers from paying taxes for three to five years. All apportioned fees for military and civilian settlements are exempted.In this way, the people who used to farm in the northern frontier counties only need to pay a small part of the money for renting and planting the land, and the rest of the harvest is their own.

Compared with northern Xinjiang, the land in Jizhou is not only large in quantity, but also has good land fertility and high yields. Of course, the farming policy must be adjusted accordingly. If the income is less, I will quit immediately.They originally thought that they could live a good life when they returned to Jizhou, but who knew it would be better than living in Bianjun, so of course they were very dissatisfied.

Zhao Qi presided over the Jizhou Mintun, visited many places, and learned about the sufferings of the people. He once asked the general to appropriately reduce the taxes of the farmers in the village, but the Jizhou government strongly opposed it.The reason is very simple. The tax reduction and exemption for farm households in the farmland, what should ordinary farmers do?They are all farming and sweating the same way. After a year of hard work, the harvest is far lower than that of the farmers in the fields. So Jizhou is not falling apart?Everyone might as well become refugees and go to Tuntian District to cultivate land.

Problems ensued.Everyone has become refugees, what about the land of the rich and powerful?The people who rented and farmed the fields all ran away, wouldn't the fields be abandoned?If you want to reduce or exempt taxes, you can reduce them together, and everyone will treat them equally.

The overall tax cuts will benefit the rich and powerful, and the Hebei provinces will suffer the most. The common people can't take advantage of it, so this matter has been put on hold and has not been resolved so far.

The third is extremely corrupt officials.The prefectures and counties with the largest population and wealth of the Han Dynasty are mainly Sili, Yuzhou, and Jizhou. The officials in these three places are also the places with the largest number of Han people, the most concentrated and the most corrupt.Just look at the areas where the Yellow Turban Army broke out first, and the areas where the Yellow Turban Army was the most powerful and fought the most intensely, you will know the extent of the corruption of these local officials, namely Jizhou and Yuzhou.

Officials in northern Xinjiang are incomparable with those in Jizhou in terms of numbers, let alone in the degree of corruption in their administration.In the past, Jizhou was very rich. Even if the officials were very corrupt, they would not immediately intensify conflicts and cause rebellion like Xiliang. After all, it is too rich to afford corruption, but it is no longer possible.After continuous wars and natural and man-made disasters, Jizhou has also reached its limit, and corruption can't afford it.

After the northern Xinjiang army occupied Jizhou, although the eldest princess brought a group of officials to Handan, Li Hong also recruited dozens of people from northern Xinjiang, but it was useless.At present, these more than 100 people are concentrated in the Palace of the Princess Chang, the Mansion of the Great Sima, and the Mansion of the General. The local counties have also replaced a group of major county officials, but the number is very small. Almost all the officials in the prefectures of Jizhou are former The crew.

It has become a habit for these officials to take bribes and pervert the law. Through their intricate relationships and various forces, they completely controlled the prefectures of Jizhou.With the gradual stabilization of Jizhou and the gradual implementation of new policies, officials at all levels in Jizhou seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, took advantage of the loopholes in the replacement of old and new policies, and wantonly bent the law. The corruption of officials reached the extreme for a while.

In the final analysis, the problems in the farmland were due to the corruption of the officials in Jizhou.

However, it is very difficult to clean up the official administration in Jizhou at present. First, Jizhou is unstable, and strong governance is prone to problems. All of them are more cunning than ghosts, and they are inextricably linked with many big officials in the three mansions of Handan. It is very difficult to catch some people's evidence of corruption and perverting the law. The third is the protection of the eldest princess.The eldest princess has a special status, and Jizhou is her hometown. People she knows and don’t know all come to show courteousness and make connections. In order to rescue the emperor as soon as possible and stabilize the community, she also tries her best to win over these people, hoping to get their help and support.The eldest princess is now in charge of patrolling and monitoring. If the eldest princess does not support Li Hongsu's corruption, it will be very difficult for Li Hongsu.

Li Hong is no longer the important general in the past. In the past, when he suppressed corruption, the emperor supported him. When something happened, the emperor supported him and helped him deal with the aftermath. Now he can’t do it anymore. Now that something happened, it will endanger Hebei and ZTE. He has no one to back him up and help him deal with the aftermath of his great cause, so he has to be cautious.

Zhao Qi spoke dryly, and finally asked Li Hong, did the general give up going north?
Li Hong smiled, shook his hand, and looked resolute.Zhao Qi was so angry that he slapped the table and walked away, "You are always so self-willed and disregarding the overall situation. Sooner or later, Hebei will be ruined."

=

Looking at the angry back of the boss, Zhang Yan was uneasy, and said to Li Hong, "General, I should go to Youzhou, I can't do this."

"You made a big move in Jizhou, and I hid far away in Youzhou, so that we can solve Jizhou's worries one by one." Li Hong said with a smile, "When the eldest princess and these elders find me, you have already Act vigorously and resolutely. Afterwards, the most I can do is to come out to clean up the situation and support you. On the contrary, if I handle these matters in Handan myself, I will be restrained everywhere. Before I move, the big tent is full of people. What am I going to do? You want me to chop around with a big knife like Dong Zhuo?"

Zhang Yan smiled reluctantly.Li Hong smoothed the long hair hanging on his chest to his back, and took out a letter from his arms.

"When I went to Luoyang, the first emperor once told me that the benefit of fighting corruption is not to punish corrupt officials, but to attack and eliminate dissidents, so that things that cannot be done by oneself can immediately become reality." Handing the silk to Zhang Yan, he continued, "In the past, I didn't understand the meaning of the words of the first emperor, or it can be said that I didn't understand the meaning of this sentence at all, but now I understand."

"Corrupt officials can never be killed. For example, when we suppressed corruption in northern Xinjiang, your subordinate just became an official. He didn't learn anything else. He first learned to take bribes, so this corrupt official will never be killed. If the law-breaking behavior does not endanger the safety of Hebei, we can bear it, and the people can also bear it. If the corruption of the officials reaches the level of Western Xinjiang, and the people all rise up, then it will not work."

Zhang Yan reached out to take the silk and did not open it, but looked at Li Hong suspiciously and asked, "What does the General mean to say that the corruption of officials in Jizhou is still within an acceptable range?"

"Yes, it's acceptable at the moment." Li Hong nodded and said, "We have snatched back a lot of land from the rich and powerful officials in Jizhou. The common people have benefited from it, but they have suffered losses. There is one thing we must admit , These lands were bought by them by various means at the beginning, not snatched away. We have to replenish them for the loss of this benefit at an appropriate time, and we cannot force them too hard. If they are forced to rebel, then It backfired, so the corruption and perverting the law by officials at all levels in the Jizhou prefectures is still acceptable."

Zhang Yan was dumbfounded, he couldn't believe that these words came from Li Hong's mouth.

Li Hong smiled at Zhang Yan, "Brother Feiyan, in fact, we can't completely ban the corruption and perverting of the laws of the various prefectures in Jizhou now."

"If we kill everyone, who else would dare to be an official? After I suppressed corruption in Hedong, when Mr. Wang Han took office, he only brought more than 30 subordinate officials to Hedong. No one dared to come. It can be seen that the bloody massacre It’s not a way to eradicate official corruption. Also, the prefectures of Jizhou need thousands of subordinates who are familiar with government affairs. If I kill them all, where can I enlist so many people at once?” Li Hong patted Zhang Yan on the shoulder , said helplessly, "It's reasonable for the eldest princess and many adults not to want me to fight corruption in Jizhou."

Zhang Yan looked at the silk in his hand, lowered his head and thought for a while, and asked: "Is the general planning to let me set off a large-scale anti-corruption storm in Jizhou, and then use it to blackmail the eldest princess and many officials of the three mansions?" To force them to give up the protection and protection of some people, so as to drive away all Jizhou officials who opposed and blocked the implementation of the New Deal, and quickly stabilize Jizhou?"

Li Hong laughed and said happily: "Brother Feiyan, as I said just now, the purpose of our crackdown on corruption is not only to punish corruption, but to kill a few corrupt officials, but to kill all those who disagree with our political views in Jizhou. All the officials will be driven away, whether it is the prefect, the prime minister, or the county magistrate, as long as they oppose the New Deal, they will all be driven away, and none will be left behind."

"I am very dissatisfied with the actions of the eldest princess and many other adults. For example, Mr. Cui, the Minister of Anping, Zhang Qi, is a relative of him. This person is very disgusted with the New Deal, and obstructs the implementation of the New Deal in Anping, but Mr. Cui cares about his face. And family, life and death do not agree with me to withdraw him, saying that the impact is too great. Master Cui expects to persuade him with his own mouth, so when it comes to the year of the monkey? I guess Master Cui said he was dead, and that Zhang Qi would not agree , so this person must be removed immediately. The way to get rid of him is to catch his corruption. If you can’t catch him, you can catch his relatives, disciples, and relatives. As long as we catch one, we will be planted. On his head, drive him away from Anping Kingdom."

Zhang Yan suddenly realized, and nodded repeatedly.

"If you kill a few corrupt officials who committed the most heinous crimes, others will naturally restrain themselves a lot. They will definitely not dare to blatantly attack the knife in the short term. In this way, the problem of official corruption will be improved, and the tax reduction and exemption of farmer households will be able to Passed smoothly. Once the farmland is stabilized, the implementation of the New Deal will be much safer." Li Hong continued, "But remember, don't kill too much, keep some, and stop in moderation. With the stability and development of Hebei in the future, more If the new policy is to be implemented, opponents will come one after another, and then we will clear up dissidents by eliminating corruption, so we must implement the new policy.”

Li Hong pointed to Zhang Yan and said with a smile, "If you kill them all in one go like I did in the past, what will I do in the future? If I have trouble in the future, I will settle accounts with you."

Zhang Yan laughed and understood.

=

Zhang Yan was taken aback by the content on the silk, it turned out to be a letter from the Zhen family in Yecheng who communicated with Yuan Shao.

"It was sent by Yu Du." Li Hong said, "Zhen Ju used to be the ruler of the dynasty. When I was in Xijiang, he and Song Dian, the minister of Zhongchang, went to Xijiang on an order. Yuan. During the New Year, I accompanied the eldest princess to visit him in Yecheng. At that time, he vowed to help me rejuvenate the big man, but look what he did behind my back?"

"Yu Du..." Zhang Yan asked in surprise, "Is this sent by Yu Du?"

"When Zhen Ju's disciples crossed Montenegro secretly, they were caught by Yu Du's men. Seeing the importance of this silk, Yu Du hurriedly sent someone to deliver it." Li Hong said, "It was delivered in time, otherwise I left and left you with a big trouble. If you have the chance, please thank Yu Du for me."

"This is what Yu Du should do. He should repay the general." Zhang Yan said, "If he is willing to be caressed this year, my wish will be granted." Then he put the silk into his arms and whispered He asked, "Should we wait for this matter? Zhen Ju will not be alone, there must be a group of people behind him."

"I'm not trying to kill him." Li Hong waved his hand and said, "These people can't turn the world upside down. On the contrary, keeping them will be useful to us in the future."

"General, keeping this kind of person is a disaster. It's best to uproot it." Zhang Yan persuaded, "Few people know about the general's visit to Youzhou. Zhen Ju got the news so quickly. It can be seen that the three Among the officials in the mansion, there are quite a few people who communicate with him, which is extremely detrimental to us."

"If you want to kill him, kill the person behind him, but Zhen Ju is not the person behind him, so let's not touch him for now, just keep an eye on him. Killing too many people is not good for us." Li Hong said, "After you catch the person behind this envoy, take advantage of this opportunity to remove and replace as many officials as possible in the three prefectures of Jizhou, as well as the chief officials of the counties and counties in Jizhou, so as to balance the situation between the three prefectures and the prefectures of Jizhou. the power of officials."

"After we arrived in Jizhou, the power of big officials borrowed from Jizhou like Cui Lie has skyrocketed. We have been influenced and restricted by this huge power in many things, so after I leave this time, you must give me this power Fight on, fight on mercilessly. If I stay in Handan, because of various reasons, especially my status, I will be too restricted, and it will be difficult for me to fight, but you are different, you are The general who led the general’s army and was once the commander of the Yellow Turban Army has deep hatred with all the forces in Jizhou. Whatever you do, there are probably people who will oppose you, so your chance will come.”

Zhang Yan thought for a while and said, "General, you'd better tell me the truth. After the balance of power among the officials of the three mansions is broken, which force will be the main force? It will be dominated by the officials of Northern Xinjiang headed by Mr. Li Wei. Or is it dominated by Wang Rou and Linghu Shao's Northern Border power?"

"Under the current situation, who do you think we can trust? Those people will stand firmly with us?" Li Hong asked rhetorically.

"Of course it's an old official from Northern Xinjiang." Zhang Yan said without hesitation.

"Then do as you say." Li Hong smiled, "In addition, other forces have taken care of it, so don't chill others' hearts, such as Liu Fang, Huang Yue, Ma Feng, Chen Qun, Yuan Huan, Cui Yan, take care of everything."

Zhang Yan nodded solemnly, "General, can I transfer some people from outside the Great Wall to Handan immediately? The general has too few people, and I feel a little powerless."

"Who do you want to transfer?" Li Hong asked.

"Currently, some of the top officials of the three governments can serve in the counties outside the Great Wall. These people are usually pampered, how do they know the hardships outside the Great Wall? They should be allowed to take a walk outside the Great Wall, so that they can know the great achievements of the general."

Li Hong laughed, "Brother Feiyan's idea is good. Well then, you decide this matter. Wei Zheng, Huang Ting, Tang Fang, Song Wen, Qianzhao, Shi Lu, and even Tian Yu, you can recruit. If there are not enough vassals in the prefectures of Jizhou, you can temporarily recruit from the students of Jinyang University Hall and Handan University Hall, and I believe that Zheng Xuan and Wang Jian, the two high priests, will definitely help you solve the problem."

=

At the end of March, Huang Fusong, the special envoy of the imperial court, arrived in Handan.

(End of this chapter)