Historically, Yang Bin's approach has received mixed reviews, with the majority split between 50 and 50. Although it led to a brain drain, it finally changed the unhealthy tendencies of the post-Han officialdom and rectified the official system. Moreover, people mostly blamed Su Fengji. If he hadn't engaged in corruption and bribery in a big name, and sold his official position to win titles, Yang Bin would not have gone so far.
Although Yang Bin hates evil, he has great limitations after all. Often make jokes at work:
Zhou Can, a native of Xingzhou, was originally a general of the Forbidden Army. After retirement, his life was not guaranteed. He followed Wang Jingchong in the Western Expedition. As a result, when Wang Jingchong rebelled against Fengxiang, Zhou Can took the initiative to act as Wang Jingchong's military think tank.
This incident greatly touched Yang Wei, so Yang Wei comprehensively reviewed the management of retired personnel and issued policies to the court: "Officials appointed by the former dynasty (later Jin Dynasty) were scattered in various places, and they often If they incite local governments to rebel against the central government, they should be gathered in the capital for unified management."
When Liu Chengyou heard this, it made sense!
As a result, these socially unstable elements were gathered in the capital.
Overnight, countless rights petitioners appeared on the streets of the capital of the Later Han Empire. They blocked the gates of the palace, stopped prime ministers on their way to and from get off work, and begged to be reinstated.
"We have to work!"
Yang Bin then added another chapter: "Place them temporarily first, and when there are vacancies for officials, they will be filled in a certain order."
When Liu Chengyou heard this, it made sense!
Waiting to "fill the vacancy" is a long process. The problem is that in the days before they get a job, they become high-level vagrants. They rush to the capital from all over the world, have no house, no money, and even basic food and lodging. question.
Yang Bin then added another chapter: "The imperial court should provide accommodation and three meals for these people."
When Liu Chengyou heard this, it made sense!
So the imperial court began to issue government subsidies to these people. These hungry and thirsty senior homeless people immediately flocked to the relief point, leaving behind the usual gentleness. The scene was once chaotic and out of control, and even caused panic among the people, thinking that the rebels or the Khitans were coming again.
Yang Bin then went one step further: "Well...even if I didn't say anything before, let's forget about it."
When Liu Chengyou heard this, it made sense!
Yang Bin's reforms changed loneliness.
Although Yang Bin's governance ability is lacking, it is undeniable that he is honest and upright. Historical records record that although Yang Bin held a high position and held great power, he never accepted bribes. However, people who gave gifts and bribes were always pervasive, so Yang Bin turned over all the stolen money he accidentally received to the state treasury for confiscation.
History has given him a relatively high evaluation, "He is good at armored soldiers and has real money, so he can serve the country well. He is humble and rough at the border, which is also his merit."
But - is he really that brilliant? According to some unofficial records, although Yang Fan despised literati, he attached great importance to his historical image and was very concerned about the evaluation of himself by future generations. Therefore, he recruited a large number of gunmen to write biographies for himself and mark his name in history. Therefore, records such as his refusal to bribe are most likely the result of artificial beautification.
It is a pity that when Yang Bin died, the gunmen had not completed their homework, and his biography also came to an end with his sudden death.
3. Wang Zhang
3.1 Wang Zhang and others
The experiences of Wang Zhang and Yang Bin are quite similar. They are both from Weizhou, both were born as "little officials", and they both had a good father-in-law. Wang Zhang's father-in-law was Bai Wenke, who assisted Guo Wei in pacifying Li Shouzhen in the river.
During the period of Emperor Li Congke of the late Tang Dynasty, Li Congke's brother-in-law Liu Yanhao was in charge of Weizhou. Liu Yanhao was unable to defend his army, which led to a mutiny and was expelled by his general Zhang Lingzhao. Soon, Fan Yanguang was ordered to put down the rebellion, and Wang Zhang was unfortunately classified as a "Zhang Lingzhao Party Member" and was listed on Weizhou's wanted list.
At the critical moment, his father-in-law came to the rescue. Li Jingzhou, the deputy commander-in-chief (deputy recruiter) of the counter-rebellion army, was an old revolutionary comrade of Bai Wenke, so Bai Wenke secretly entrusted Li Jingzhou to protect his son-in-law Wang Zhang. When the city was broken, Li Jingzhou immediately captured Wang Zhang, then hid him in the baggage team's pocket, smuggled him back to Beijing, and then hid him in his home to avoid the limelight.
The limelight soon passed, Li Congke died, and the country changed dynasties. Only then did Wang Zhang see the light of day again and was appointed as the grain envoy of Heyang.
Later, when Liu Zhiyuan was imprisoning the army, he recruited Wang Zhang under his command and brought him to Hedong. Wang Zhang thus became Liu Zhiyuan's direct descendant from Hedong. After Liu Zhiyuan became emperor, he used Wang Zhang to judge the three divisions.
A blessing in disguise is a blessing in disguise. At the end of the Late Tang Dynasty, Wang Zhang was involved in Zhang Lingzhao's mutiny and became a wanted criminal by Li Congke's court. He had to remain anonymous and live a life of a fugitive in hiding in the dark. Because he was wanted by Li Congke, he was reused by Shi Jingtang of the Later Jin Dynasty. Liu Zhiyuan of the Later Han Dynasty inherited the mantle of the Later Jin Dynasty, so Liu Zhiyuan still trusted Wang Zhang very much.
After Liu Chengyou came to the throne, he inspected the affairs of Taiwei and Tongping Zhang for Wang Zhang, and reached the pinnacle of his life.
The reason why Wang Zhang was promoted was not only because of his own experience and being favored by the ruler, but also because of his father-in-law's personal connections and resources. It was also inseparable from his own ability, because his main job was finance and he was the money of Hedong Group. bag.
Although they are both related to money, food and taxation, Wang Zhang and Yang Bin's talent trees are still different, and their specializations are different. Yang Bin's job is biased toward "violent debt collection" and is the final end of taxation work, while Wang Zhang is the financial director and is more clerical. This is also when Liu Zhiyuan became emperor, Yang Bin became the representative of the generals group as the "Privy Envoy", while Wang Zhang continued his job as the "Sanshi Division".
At that time, there were successive natural disasters in the Central Plains, especially in the Yellow River Basin, where hundreds of thousands of people starved to death, and the Shanxi-Liao War also lasted for five years. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as "poverty and weakness". These contents have been written by Liu Zhiyuan The hell mode opening and Liu Chengyou’s basement mode opening are described in detail.
On this basis, three towns in the west rebelled in succession, and Hou Shu responded by sending troops to intervene; Huainan was also ready to take action, and sporadic conflicts occurred on the southeastern border; the Khitan took advantage of the situation and went deep into Hebei to plunder.
There is no doubt that in this case, the national finance will face unimaginable difficulties and obstacles, and all this is what Wang Zhang needs to solve.
Thanks to Wang Zhang's hard work, the Later Han Dynasty not only did not worry about money problems, but also had a surplus in the treasury. This made Liu Chengyou very satisfied and greatly appreciated Comrade Wang Zhang's work ability.
Of course, Wang Zhang cannot generate wealth. He does not create wealth, but is just a porter of wealth. In short, he was very good at exploiting people. No wonder, don't forget that Wang Zhang and Yang Bin's old chief is Kong Qian.
