The war in the south is over, but it does not mean the end of the One Year War. In late August, not long after Chen Chong received the news that the Wu troops were withdrawing, another military report came from Jiang Ji in Youzhou, saying that the Liao troops had once again left Liaoze and were approaching Lulongsai. Speaking of which, Cao Zhen has been invaded every year in recent years. In fact, the government and the public have become accustomed to it. After several years of renovation, the defense in the Lulong area can be said to be impregnable, and the probability that Cao's army can break through it can be said to be decreasing year by year. But this year, Chen Chong still paid a lot of attention to the Liao army. After all, Hebei was at a critical juncture in implementing the order to abolish the dock, and it must not be abandoned halfway because of the Liao army's factors.
As previously expected, after the announcement of the abolition of the docking order, most of the three states in Hebei Province are still waiting and watching, and few are willing to cooperate. In May, Chen Dao wrote in a letter to Chen Chong that based on a half-year search by county and county officials, it was roughly determined that 274 Wubao needed to be abandoned. However, as of the date of sending the letter, even though he repeatedly preached that the imperial court would There are only 16 places that are willing to take the initiative to give compensation and abandon the fort. It seems that the complete implementation of the New Deal is still far away.
After Chen Chong read it, he immediately wrote back to Chen Dao, giving instructions: Since there are many people watching, why not use thunderbolt means! Specifically, Chen Dao was ordered to conduct an incognito inspection to find out who among the big clans had close ties with the horse thieves. Once he found conclusive evidence, Chen Dao could immediately lead his troops to arrest them. If there was resistance, he might as well attack and destroy them, which would serve as a deterrent to the smaller ones. effect. Chen Chong gave special encouragement at the end of the letter: "There are things in the world that we should do and things we should not do. Heroes are brave enough to benefit the people, and gentlemen are careful about themselves. Only in this way can we be immortal."
At the same time, he sent a letter to Zhang Fei, asking him to lead 50,000 Beifu troops out of Huguan, patrol from Yecheng to Xindu, pass through Zhuojun, and pass through four states and eleven counties, in order to demonstrate the determination of the country.
By June, even as the fighting in the south was raging, Chen Chong still focused on Hebei. In the same month, the Prime Minister's Office promulgated the "Order to Advance Talents" which said: "In the previous dynasty, scholars were selected in four subjects: first, those with high virtues and clean moral integrity; second, those who practiced the classics and practice well enough to be able to serve as doctors; third, those who were proficient in law, enough Only those who can resolve doubts and answer questions can be appointed as censors. The fourth is to be resolute and resourceful, not confused when things happen, to be clear enough to deal with evil, and to support enough to make decisions. Only then can one be appointed as a censor. Today's country is in continuous trouble, and the government officials are incompetent. This is the reason. When employing people, we will open four departments to recruit and test for positions, and Chen Dao, the person in charge of the Hebei case, will act on his behalf." This is the preparation made in advance to recruit scholars from Hebei. As long as there are county officials who obey the order to abolish the dock, Chen Dao will do it. Upon arrival, he will be sent to the Prime Minister's Mansion as a priority.
By August, when the Liao army attacked, Chen Dao had identified eighteen families who had colluded with the horse thieves and eliminated them one by one. The leaders were beheaded and their families and followers were sent to Yizhou. Some nobles were afraid and did not dare to resist, so they took the initiative to implement the order to abolish Wubao; however, there were also quite a few nobles who did not give up. They verbally agreed to abolish Wubao, but in fact they used various methods to delay it. Or they might gather together to cause trouble and redress grievances. Of course, some people would inevitably collude with the Liao people. Not only did they cause an uproar in the local area, but what was even worse, hundreds of people came to Luoyang in groups and played drums in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion, claiming that Chen Dao, the perpetrator of the crime, had colluded with the law and demanded that he be jailed and punished.
Since the founding of the country, there has never been such a strange incident of local scholars going to Beijing to file a lawsuit, so the capital was in great uproar. When the court meeting was held, people such as Zheng Yien, Sun Qian, Zhang Yi, etc. all advised Chen Chong to cancel the abolition of the dock order on the grounds that this matter would harm the state. In private, some students who have followed Chen Chong for many years are also persuading. For example, Yu Fan discussed with Chen Chong, saying that the country is still at war, and the teacher does not need to be so concerned. It is better to suspend the abolition of the dock order first and wait for a few years before implementing it. Not too late.
Chen Chong had already prepared for these situations and could not shake his determination. The only thing that surprised him was that Zhang Fei, who was out on tour, also sent a letter. Zhang Fei said in the letter that when he passed through the counties and counties in Hebei, he saw "the clothes were in ruins, the elegance was ruined", and "the noble families were abandoned, and the rich families were in disgrace". The people's support "affected the fundamentals and caused a stir in the world", so Chen Chong was also advised to give up the abolition of the dock order. This made Chen Chong very disappointed. He knew that Zhang Fei liked to make friends with scholars and was not considerate of the people. He must have been taken in by many people, so he wrote back: "Gaozu was born as the chief of the pavilion, and he conquered the world with his merits and destiny. Where are the clothes and hats? If I exterminate all the people now and take the lavish gifts, I am afraid that I will laugh at them for all generations to come!"
Chen Chong may seem weak, but he is strong on the inside. Even if both the government and the public are different, he has not changed. Instead, he reiterated the need to abolish the docking order in the court, and at the same time, he took in the visitors one by one and placed them in the capital's county residence, obviously planning for the long term. In the next two months, Chen Chong dedicated time to talk to the visitors one by one, record their grievances, and sent people to the places to verify and collect evidence. Comparing the last two, there are less than eleven that can match the reality. Chen Chong immediately sent those who lied to the imperial edict and sent them to Jiuquan. The government and the opposition were so solemn that they did not talk about the rights and wrongs of the New Deal.
In October of winter, the Prime Minister's Office wrote down the details of the case on a public notice and posted it in three prefectures and counties in Hebei Province. It is a pity that the chaos in Hebei has not been eliminated, and has become more and more rampant under the attack. By the end of October, there was Gao Ji in Fuyang, Bohai Sea. He said that the traitor Chen Chong was harming the government and abusing the people without justice, so he raised an army in the name of Qingjun. Gao Ji claimed to be the general assisting the Han Dynasty and supported more than 10,000 people. Within a few days, he captured Fuyang, Zhangwu and Haixing counties, and scared away Haiping Zhonglang General Huangfu Li. When the surrounding Wubao saw this, they also raised troops to respond. There is a trend of sweeping Cangzhou.
On this sensitive occasion, Dukang Zhonglang General Wang Ji told Chen Chong: "The thieves in Gaoji have raised an army. It seems cruel, but in fact it is weak and not a real enemy. Since the imperial court has shown its power, it is not appropriate to stop the army. A high base seems to be a coward, and it is a failure to trust the people. As for the debate on politics, the prime minister is simple and simple for the people. When the country hears about it, the truth is clear. The people will consider their sins seriously and dare not become the source of treachery. And the delay lasts for a long time. , the Liao invaders, because of this, Youyan is not a part of the country, and Cang and Hebei are in danger and uneasy. This plan is a big failure. The army should quickly enter the Bohai Sea and force the thieves to the north of Fuyang, so that they cannot move rashly, so as to seize the enemy first. , the thief will be defeated!"
So he crossed his own defense zone and took the initiative to march to Fuyang. At this time, it was only ten days before the Gaoji uprising. Wang Ji's letter had not yet reached Luoyang. The army had already appeared at Bailangwu in the north of Fuyang. This shocked Gaoji. They scattered in groups, with only a few thousand people left. The plains of Hebei are vast, but Gaoji's troops lacked horses. As a result, they had no way to go and had to stay in the self-built Bainiaowu. Wang Ji finally broke through in three days. Afterwards, Bainiaowu was burned down by Wang Ji, and all his tribe except the mastermind were dismissed by Wang Ji.
When Wang Ji returned to Youzhou along the same route, it was snowing heavily in Hebei Province. The snowflakes fell from the sky and stuck to the ground. The horse hoof prints from when they came could still be seen, so Wang Ji was called "General Treadmark". ". For a while, Hebei was in good order. Even though there were still discords when implementing administrative orders, there were no more horse thieves.
At this time, Chen Chong had just received Wang Ji's invitation form. Chen Chong was very excited to receive the victory. He walked around the room with the letter. When he saw Fu Qian coming back from Taixue, he sincerely praised: "Yancai, you recommended a minister and secret official to the imperial court." Officials of the pavilion."
After the Gaoji Rebellion was put down, the Liao army retreated again, and the last obstacle to the implementation of the Abolition of Wuxing Order was removed. At the end of the year, Chen Dao once again reported to Chen Chong the details of the abandoned docks in Hebei. The 274 docks originally planned to be abandoned have now been abandoned at 199. Optimistic estimates suggest that by March next year at the latest, the docks will be abandoned. The country will be able to abandon all the remaining forts. By then, the imperial court would be able to implement policies such as land transfer, registration, and peer review in Hebei.
After this year, the country was undefeated in the war, the policies implemented were going smoothly, and everything seemed to be developing in a good direction. Chen Chong was deeply pleased with this. He did not blame Huangfu Li for losing his temper in Cangzhou, but praised the meritorious ministers. For example, Zhuge Liang added a new title to Nanxiang Marquis and increased the number of 300 households in the city; Chen Dao, the executor of the case, promoted the title to Wusuixiang Marquis and increased the number of 200 households in the city; Dukang Zhonglang promoted Wang Ji to a partial general and advanced to the title. The Marquis of Guannei was given a hundred gold.
On New Year's Day in the third year of Yanxi (AD 223), Queen Mother Liu Jia suddenly sent her maid to the Prime Minister's house. The palace official did not bring anything else and handed over the Queen Mother's letter to Chen Chong in person. Liu Jia didn't contact Chen Chong for a long time, which surprised Chen Chong, who thought she had finally thought about it. After reading it, I realized that it was still business. It turns out that Liu Jia was talking about enlightening the emperor Liu Yi.
The emperor is seven years old this year, and he is at the age where he can learn to read and learn science. The people who accompany the emperor in the palace are all warriors selected by Chen Chong. Although it is not that there are no talented people like Jiang Wei who are both civil and military, they still make Liu Jia disgusted. Therefore, Liu Jia said in his letter that he hoped that Chen Chong would find some famous and credible scholars and doctors in Taixue to come to the palace to give lectures to the emperor.
Lecture for the emperor! Chen Chong looked at this letter and suddenly remembered many past events. After careful calculation, he had already given lectures to the two emperors. Everyone in the world calls Chen Chong a wise man, as if he is omnipotent, but when it comes to preaching for the emperor, Chen Chong fails again and again. Whether it was harsh or tolerant, he had tried them all, but in the end they were all unsatisfactory. It was now his third time lecturing for the emperor. Can he succeed?
Chen Chong thought for a while and finally gave up on this. I am already in my early sixties, my energy is not as good as before, and I am still busy with official duties. I am afraid that I can no longer teach the emperor as before. And as he grew older, Chen Chong clearly felt that he might not survive the Emperor Yuanfu. Let’s find some young teachers for him! With this thought in mind, Chen Chong called Fu Gan, who was serving as the doctor's sacrificial wine, and asked him to find some writings by current doctors of the Five Classics. Chen Chong planned to use books to read people and see who was suitable.
