"Although you have already expressed your thoughts just now, in order to avoid hurting innocent people, I ask again. Who is in favor of me becoming emperor, and who is against it?" Wang Yan's sharp eyes scanned the ministers: "If you agree, stand on the left, if against, stand on the right. . Don’t curse back and forth, just save your energy.”
He didn't speak loudly, but in the Daqing Hall where you could hear a needle drop at this moment, the sound of thunder fell in everyone's ears.
This time there was no more chaos, and there was no need for Wang Yan to threaten them. As soon as he finished speaking, the ministers who reacted quickly took action. In just a moment, the line was formed.
Not surprisingly, the team on the left is especially strong. When the surrender faction and the opposition were fighting just now, the neutral faction who closed their eyes and paid no attention to worldly affairs all stood on the left. In fact, most people already have a choice before they say a word. The rest, which were contrary to the choices of most people, made the right choice wisely when they saw the heads on the ground.
At this moment, everyone finally realized that Qin Hui died unjustly because he was a chicken for the monkeys to see. After all, no matter what, it is definitely better to surrender. If everyone opposes, they cannot really be killed. Therefore, what Wang Yan wanted to express was clearly conveyed to them. The first one to surrender and ask the emperor to be beheaded would be cut down, so there would be no one who could not be cut down. They can imagine what will happen to those who oppose it. Moreover, the Song Dynasty inherited the Tang system and respected the left. The capitulationists are on the left, which is another sign of goodwill. They are all smart people with good minds.
Likewise, a few members of the opposition who were not numerically superior, including the loyal ministers of the Song Dynasty, also chose to follow their hearts and very wisely sided with the capitulationists who had been fighting each other just now.
Today is the meeting of the imperial court, and all the qualified officials from the capital are here. At a glance, there are not only one thousand but also eight hundred. But now the opposition team only has a few dozen people. There are some celebrities here, such as Zhang Shuye and Li Gang.
Zhang Shuye was originally executed because he offended Cai Jing. Later, when he was transferred back to Beijing to serve, his official career was bumpy. After all, Cai Jing was still there. When Song Jiang recruited troops to recruit troops and attacked Fang La and others, he served as the recruiting envoy and was the highest officer in charge of suppressing bandits. During the war, Gao Qiu and Cai Jing had already been taken down, so no one stopped him from ascending to the throne. His qualifications are not bad, and he was easily promoted to the title of direct bachelor of Longtuge and censor Zhongcheng just because of his merits in suppressing bandits.
Yushi Zhongcheng is the official who inspects all officials, starting from the third-rank official. It can be seen that Zhao Ji, who has a clear mind, is actually good at using people. But it's still a little late, and it would be in vain to use it again.
The first person to scold Wang Yan just now was Zhang Shuye.
It's a pity that such people oppose him becoming emperor. But it would be even more of a pity if such a person did not object to him becoming emperor.
He won't do anything to these people, but he won't use them again. Although they have made their mark in history and are indeed capable, no one under him is irreplaceable. There are many talents, and there are even more talents that have not been discovered, no less than these dozens of people.
Seeing everyone taking their positions, Wang Yan waved his hand: "Liang Wu, send them home."
Liang Wu nodded, but did not push or scold him. He very politely asked the dozens of people to be taken out. Not to mention that the choice of these people is worthy of respect. The leader's instructions to send them home were just an attitude, and they had no intention of doing anything to them.
Of course, I heard that the loyal ministers of the Song Dynasty who had been let go did not have good things to say. In the process, it was inevitable that some people could not help but scold Wang Yan, a rebellious traitor. We have reached this point, we have made our choice, there is nothing to be afraid of.
The rest of the matter is simple. After all, only a few dozen people left, and the current government operations are not delayed at all. He gave four orders. First, he announced the change of emperor to the world. At the same time, he announced the abolition of all kinds of taxes, leaving only an agricultural tax and a tax of one for fifteen. Second, prepare for the enthronement ceremony. Third, prepare for the construction of a new capital city in Luoyang. Fourth, introduce new tax laws.
Before local civil and military officials expressed their opinions, his current administrative power was only in Bianjing, Hebei and Shandong. Even in the Western Army, which he had infiltrated for a long time, it was difficult to speak. To be more precise, he is now just a warlord who has occupied Bianjing City and controlled the emperor and officials.
So at this time, everything was empty, and his orders were of little use. First, he handed over the most important tax law and studied it. As for moving the capital to Luoyang, he had already thought about it. Now there are many enemies in the north, and the south is not well developed. However, Luoyang has a canal, a mature land transportation system, a wide area, has been the capital or companion capital of past dynasties, has historical heritage, and has the ready-made palace of Ziwei Palace.
Of course, these conditions are actually quite mature in Bianjing, but he just doesn't want to hang out in Bianjing. Another point is that I also want to have a mighty metropolis and a glorious grand palace. Furthermore, although Luoyang's original city was of sufficient standard, if it wanted to be the capital, if it wanted a big city and a big palace, it would definitely require a lot of construction. Although there is already a large-scale palace complex, which is four times the size of the current Bianjing Palace, he still needs to build, renovate, maintain, and re-plan the urban layout of Luoyang. By the way, building some more wonders can also increase jobs and stimulate domestic demand. These are no small projects and will take many years.
As for other government framework reforms, the handling of civil and military officials, land reform, etc., that will all happen later. Now it is simply impossible to influence the interests of all classes, and the smoothest possible transition of political power is the first priority.
He didn't ask Zhao Ji to write any imperial edict for the Zen position. It didn't mean anything. He was just a rebel and there was no need to pretend to find any legitimacy. There was no need. In fact, no matter whether it is Zhao Ji who holds the Zen throne or not, there will be careerists who will take the opportunity to break up the soil and become the king at this time.
In the past, Zhao Ji and his ministers brought terrible harm to the people. There were constant uprisings. Every once in a while, some people would go up to the mountains, destroy homes, rob houses, and become strong men. Now, once an ambitious man comes out, he can draw many people out of them just by drawing a cake. . This is why, together with the change of emperor, he announced to the world that other exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes would be abolished and only the fifteen taxes per farm would be retained. It is to keep the property owners honest as much as possible, while also stabilizing the landlord and gentry class.
This is done to avoid innocent casualties to the greatest extent possible. Otherwise, according to his temper, he directly declares the land to be state-owned and abolishes Confucian orthodoxy. On these two points, the whole country will be in chaos in an instant. It's just that now he wants to take over a dynasty as smoothly as possible and then carry out reforms. If he really wanted to do it with all his strength, then even if he didn't go to Liangshan, he still wanted to stand on the top of a mountain by himself and openly rebel. Why did he hide it secretly for more than ten years?
Faced with Wang Yan's order, the officials who had surrendered did not say anything and simply followed it. Although in their view, exempting those taxes is a conscious way to survive. After all, a country is so big, with military expenditures, salaries, construction in various places, and small disasters from time to time, etc. Without those exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes that are killing people, there may not be much this year, but next year, that will be where We all need money, and there is no money anywhere, so we can’t survive at all.
Yes, they believe that Wang Yan can be the emperor, and he can be the emperor until next year or even the year after. There is no way, Wang Yan's ability is there. Yanggu County is the richest in the world, and the Northern Army is the strongest in the world. This is all due to him. After preparing for so long, they believed that Wang Yan could suppress the country in terms of force. But they are not optimistic about running the country.
But now that the knife is on the neck, no one can say that it is not pleasant to find them. Anyway, as long as they don't die, they can do whatever they want.
Wang Yan likes their mentality very much, and this is the best. After all, they are still capable people. If they are not noisy or making trouble now, and can save their lives peacefully, it will last for a while, and there is no need to rush to kill the pig.
The rebellion is now complete. After all, he has surrounded Bianjing City, and the royal family is basically in his hands, so why can't it be considered a success? Of course, the real challenge has just begun. It just depends on whether he can sit on the stable dragon chair. Of course, there is no doubt about it.
After dismissing all the ministers who had survived the disaster, Wang Yan finally turned around and looked at Zhao Ji, who was sitting on the dragon throne behind him.
Zhao Ji was extremely frightened in his heart. When he received the news that Wang Yan led his troops to gather outside Xihua Gate, he was not too afraid because the purpose was unclear. But after hearing that all the gates in the inner city were sealed, he really understood what this precious son-in-law was going to do. When I later heard that the troops blocking the city gate had not blocked it, I already collapsed again. He was completely frightened when he saw Wang Yan's men killing them fiercely and fiercely outside the Daqing Palace.
It's not that he hasn't thought about running away, but he's not dizzy yet and knows that he can't run away at all. Although there are indeed several secret passages in the palace, the furthest one is outside Bianjing City. Considering the combat effectiveness of Wang Yan's soldiers, he knew very well that he would not be able to escape more than two miles without being captured, so he wisely did not move.
Now, his ministers have lived up to his expectations and have really abandoned him. Of course, what he saw was indeed someone who would rather die than surrender. But is that useful? What he wants is his own safety.
There were only two of them left in the palace. He wanted to ask Wang Yan to be the regent. Wang Yan would have the final say in all state affairs, as long as he spared his life. But that had been rejected by the ministers before. After all, no one would stop at this point. That would be courting death. Apart from that, he really didn't know what to say for a moment, so he just stood up nervously and subconsciously hid behind him.
Wang Yan saw Zhao Ji's helplessness at this moment. He shook his head and said, "No matter what, you are my father-in-law. What's more, Yupan is pregnant with Liujia. How could I kill you?"
Looking at his good son-in-law walking up the stairs step by step, Zhao Ji forced himself to calm down and said tremblingly: "How are you going to arrange for me... er me? Confinement?"
After saying that, without waiting for his son-in-law's reply, he laughed miserably: "Since ancient times, it's good to be alive if you are a king or a loser. If you are imprisoned, you can be imprisoned. But... can you take it for the sake of past friendship..."
I'm a little scared, but my life is at stake and I can't help it. Now that I have the certainty of immortality, I want to think about whether my living conditions can be better. After all, he had never suffered any crime since he was a child. What if he was imprisoned and treated harshly? But after all, he still had some dignity as an emperor and did not continue.
Then again, he is an emperor after all, and he is still his father-in-law. Even if he goes down, let alone being treated kindly, it cannot be treated harshly.
Wang Yan smiled: "Don't scare yourself, I don't want to do anything to you. I'm going to move the capital to Luoyang, and I'll build a new library there. Don't you always like calligraphy and painting? How about Longtuge and Taiqing Tower? I am familiar with the unique copies of the books, as well as the calligraphy and paintings of famous people. It just so happens that you are doing the statistics first, and when the time comes, you will be in charge of the construction of the library. From now on, the library will also be under your charge, so you can indulge in calligraphy and painting."
Zhao Ji is professional in this regard. Let him be the director of the Royal Library, which is definitely a professional counterpart. And he doesn't have to do anything. He still reads, writes, and paints every day. How happy he is.
This is really interesting. If he were in a different place, Wang Yan didn't think Zhao Ji would let him go. For big things, a woman is nothing, let alone the father-in-law. It is not impossible to kill the father-in-law and his whole family. There is nothing to say about the success of the king and the defeat of the bandits.
Zhao Ji opened his eyes wide and looked at Wang Yan in disbelief.
"It's already this time, why am I still trying to trick you?" Wang Yan waved his hand and said, "But you can forget it, and other members of the clan will not be lenient. In the future, the clan members will be investigated one by one to find out if they have committed crimes or committed crimes. Those who commit crimes will be investigated and punished."
"We must investigate, investigate ruthlessly. There are also those ministers, all of them are just plain old people, working together... Even if the Song Dynasty is defeated by them, you can't let them go." Zhao Ji was filled with indignation. After scolding him for a while, he licked his face and smiled awkwardly: "That...my...uh, my...those concubines..."
"After checking the innocence of the family and finding out that there is nothing illegal, I will give it all to you. Now, go back and pack your things and move them to your original Prince Duan's Mansion before dark."
Zhao Ji nodded, turned around and left without saying a word. He is no longer the emperor, so he must feel disappointed in his heart. But having saved his life, he was quite content and didn't want any more bicycles. This was fine now, and he was basically back to the time when he was King Duan.
Wang Yan shook his head and looked at his hurriedly leaving figure. He waved to Liang Wu and asked him to send someone to notify the inner and outer cities to release the access control. Then he went to watch Zhao Ji and help move the house. Now the harem has also heard about such a big change. It seems that it has already become a mess, scrambling for treasures and preparing to run out of the palace. In this case, Zhao Ji won't have much to do when he goes back. The husband and wife are flying their own birds in the forest, let alone the eunuchs and maids at the bottom of the palace who are usually bullied.
Maybe you will still be impressed by Zhao Ji's former majesty at first, but that won't necessarily happen later. Maybe you will get impatient and have to beat Zhao Ji to vent his anger or something. It should be protected, but it should be protected.
He stood outside the palace again, bathed in the morning light for a while, and then summoned the Shangshi Bureau, also known as the Imperial Dining Room, which cooked for the emperor and the concubines and children of the harem. He entered the city early in the morning, and then rebelled directly. It was almost noon, so he couldn't eat.
While he was eating, Wu Song's men and horses had already dispersed in various prefectures on the east and west roads of Beijing. In these prefectures, some officials are cooperative, some are uncooperative, and some are simply brought in by others to cause trouble. As a local emperor who has been cultivating Shandong for more than ten years, he naturally remembers these sects very clearly. Moreover, in these cities, people from the Wang family were originally running businesses. Even if they encountered resistance, they could still make money by cooperating with others.
So it's very simple. In the early morning, a huge firework exploded in the sky above Wangjiazhuang, and then there were fireworks in distant directions in succession, just like that all the way to the whole Shandong.
In countless prefectures and cities, officials who had already been registered and must be killed were arrested in the comfortable and warm arms of their own concubines, and then their homes were ransacked at a very fast speed. After that, the men were all busy working, and the women just ignored them. It is possible to survive. Besides, those women had done some mischief in the past, or their parents' families had taken advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble. They had enjoyed it in the first half of their lives, but they had to pay something in the second half of their lives.
They may remarry as wives, or become concubines, or join the prostitution industry, or they may become widowed old women. Who knows what the specific situation will be.
Now there are no two emperors who have been taken prisoner, and there is no concubine Di Ji who has been enslaved and prostituted. Therefore, although Jielie has existed for a long time, it is far from the point where various memorial arches were established later, and it is still relatively loose for women. At most, they are just pointing fingers at the latest news. This is unavoidable at any time. After all, regardless of men and women, gossips can be found everywhere, and it is one of the most common diseases of human beings. But in terms of the general environment, it is not as bad as it was later. Survival is the first thing and chastity is the last thing.
In addition, on Jingdong East Road, because the commander of the forbidden army there was uncooperative, his subordinates were bribed by the old Wang family, or simply sent by the old Wang family, and directly tied up the commander of the forbidden army and beat him severely, and they would also work and rest in the future. Their actions were no different from Wu Song's. It was just that they acted on the spur of the moment and did not plan ahead.
But the problem wasn't big. There were Wang's shops everywhere, and local officials were cooperating. Except for the inevitable death of some people, everything else went smoothly.
In just one day, the entire main area of Shandong fell into Wang Yan's hands. The remaining counties and cities were just a matter of time. He would be able to control them all in more than a month.
On the other side, the Northern Army, which was confronting Lu Zhishen, also mutinied. Some key leaders were either arrested or killed. After a period of large-scale internal fighting, Lu Zhishen's troops and Wu Dewei's 50,000 troops were brought in, and the situation of the Northern Army was quickly controlled.
The internal strife of the Northern Army did not cause too many casualties, only a few hundred died and thousands injured. No matter whether the people killed or injured were innocent, they were insignificant in the face of such a major event that changed the world, and no one would care. Although it makes no sense, the fact is that it is necessary. After killing and wounding these people, they went through old accounts to arrest middle- and high-level officers, and severely chopped off a group of them. In the army, the strong man speaks, even if he wants to work, he must be beheaded, and his iron authority must be established with blood.
When the Northern Army changed, Wang Mingan lived up to the expectations of his father and Wang Yan. He had already begun to clean up the Hebei area, advancing from north to south, bit by bit to Bianjing, and concatenating the areas he had controlled. This process will also be very fast, because the Northern Army has more than 200,000 soldiers, and the Liao Army actually defending in Xijin Prefecture only has 50,000 soldiers from Wudewei. The Liao Army who fought did not dare to come out at all, and it was basically useless. to the Northern Army.
However, the Northern Army was unable to attack the Liao Kingdom, but it was not embarrassing at all to attack its own people. Therefore, after leaving more than 100,000 Northern troops to continue guarding the border, they began to reorganize and train the new army, and sent 100,000 troops to Wang Ming'an for dispatch. For those who did not have much protection, and there were people inside, they basically pushed forward all the way. At that time, these 100,000 people will begin to retrain in Bianjing to suppress internal dissatisfaction.
Also on the morning of this day, the main generals of the Western Army, such as Zhong and Zhe, received a letter with similar specific content. It was Wang Yan who told them that he had successfully rebelled at this time, and it was up to them to fight or subjugate him. Of course, we can't always be so aggressive, but we still said that in the future we would raise the status of the military and not be constrained by civilian officials. There are other plans for the future military such as training new troops, restructuring, improving salaries, establishing military training halls for officers, and so on.
He also said that if he obeyed the leadership of the central government and his leadership of Wang Yan, then he would send someone to Beijing to report on his work. If you don't obey, the food and grass supply to the Western Army will be cut off. See you on the battlefield.
As the second most powerful legion in the Song Dynasty and the frontier army guarding the Western Regions, Wang Yan still wanted to fight for it. If there is internal turmoil, try not to cause external troubles.
But you have to say harsh words when you need to, and you still have to do what you need to do. He is not afraid of the Western Army causing chaos, because the Western Army cannot cause chaos. No matter how patriotic those generals are, Zhao and Song are all over now. As long as their own interests can be guaranteed, they can talk about it even if their will to resist is not firm. After all, no matter whether you are serving the country or the people, you must also serve your family. This does not involve any national interests, it is just a rebellion by a careerist. Besides, they all knew Wang Yan's ability, and he should be better than Zhao Ji. Therefore, they were skeptical about Wang Yan's promise, but they were not very determined about meeting with soldiers.
And even if the Western Army is really in chaos, he also has people in the Western Army. Although he cannot control many troops, he can still stab him in the back. The casualties in the fight will not be too great and can be completely tolerated. This is the advantage of having been secretly working for more than ten years. There are people everywhere.
Wang Yan, who was in the Bianjing Palace, believed that those people would not let him down...
