Xiao Yu, who went to Dunhuang to try Zhang Dinghuang's case in person, has been open for three days. He did not work in the county government office, but built a large shed in front of the county government office to show that he was different from the county government office.
The four words "Redress for the People's Wrongs" written in large letters on the lintel are very eye-catching, but within these three days, the entire prison camp has been deserted, and no one has cared about it. But Xiao Yu doesn't mind or is in a hurry.
Because Zhang Dinghuang is already a piece of meat on the chopping block, it is very easy to capture him, but the difficulty lies in catching all the criminals in one go and establishing credibility in the government.
Xiao Yu knew Yang Ji's thoughts and plans very clearly. He was simply taking Zhang Dinghuang as an opportunity to attack the eight major surnames in Guazhou and the six major families in Dunhuang. The method was to first divide the relationship between the people and these local powerful people, so that the local Power becomes a sourceless water. While provoking and stimulating conflicts between the two, it also establishes the credibility of Yang Ji and the government in Dunhuang.
To paraphrase Yang Ji's words, it is to establish the credibility of the government and make the people trust the government. When they encounter troubles and difficulties, the first thing they think of is to go to the government to complain, instead of swallowing their anger or asking local "gentry" for help.
Xiao Yu raised his hands in approval of this.
In the past, whenever officials came to serve as officials in a new place, the first thing they did was to meet with local powerful people and take the lead in establishing good relations with them. They felt that only with the support of local powerful people could they sit in this position and make some political achievements. , over time, the rule that the government and local powerful people co-governed the local area was formed.
Under this rule, many local officials were reduced to assisting the powerful in governing the local area. Whenever there was a local dispute, as long as what the local powerful did did not affect their reputation and official status, the officials would let them go. He acted in his own name, and only came out to make peace with the powerful powers when there was a dispute.
If the local powerful are satisfied, they will give a farewell and send-off to an official before he leaves office, and mobilize the local people to send him off. Regardless of whether the official is really loved by all the people, the people's umbrella, the virtue card, Tricks like the boot-off ceremony are essential. And the officials also gained a good reputation. But the eyes of the people are sharp. Although they dare not say anything, they are well aware of the bad things done by officials and local powerful people.
In this way, officials and local tycoons achieved a win-win situation. Officials not only gained money, but also gained the reputation and reputation they wanted to promote; while the tycoons served in this official position, their fields became more abundant and better, and their slaves became more prosperous. There are more, and the power becomes stronger. However, the reputation of the government became infamous. From then on, the people no longer believed in the government or the court. They felt that the world was as black as crows. No matter who was appointed as an official, it was the government and powerful people who joined forces to exploit them.
Xiao Yu had been a prisoner for so many years and knew all about it and hated it deeply. Therefore, when Yang Ji decided to break this bad rule and proposed to re-establish the authority of the government and rebuild its credibility, he not only agreed, but also I am happy to be Yang Ji's pawn.
If this matter really comes to pass, no matter who will govern Guazhou in the future, the foundation of people's support will be there, and then all the decrees promulgated by Yang Ji in Ganzhou will be implemented better and faster.
Based on Xiao Yu's understanding of Yang Ji, I am afraid that this process will soon be spread throughout Liangzhou by the Li Cao Propaganda Department in various ways.
If he finished Guazhou and moved on to other places, Xiao Yu estimated that the big and small powerful people in Liangzhou would have to surrender to Yang Ji, give up all privileges and all illegal gains, and become good and law-abiding people.
This place is different from other large and small states. The officials in other large and small states are not only members of aristocratic families and local powerful people, but also vested interests in the place where the emperor and the aristocratic families rule the world together, and the government and local powerful people share the Han Dynasty. Even if they can see There are dangers from aristocratic families and local tyrants, but in the huge system of aristocratic families, when they face some things, they can only use compromise to gradually resolve them.
But as a member of the royal family, Yang Ji is equivalent to a member outside the aristocratic family system. His origin is destined to put the interests of the dynasty first, and he does not need to follow the decadent unspoken rules of the aristocratic family circle. , what he has to do is to use strong force and strong means to break these rules, and then on this basis, establish the rules established by Yang Ji, which is the rule of law and the rule of law that Yang Ji always advocates, and this is also The result that any emperor hopes to see is also the fundamental reason why Yang Guang believed in Yang Ji, supported Yang Ji, and granted Yang Ji the power of life and death.
When he first came to Liangzhou, Xiao Yu originally thought that Yang Ji's attempt to break the old and decadent rules was nonsense and a fool's dream; however, in the past few years, under Yang Ji's system in Liangzhou, it did not matter whether he was a Han or an ordinary person. Hu people, Qiang people, and Sogdians all became loyal supporters of Yang Ji's various new systems.
Such a result not only stunned Xiao Yu, but was also the fundamental reason why he was willing to be a pawn, and the more he worked, the more energetic and excited he became.
What is the greatest pursuit of orthodox Confucian scholars?
Nothing more than a "name"!
Famous throughout the world and left in history!
Xiao Yu is no exception, as long as he can help Yang Ji break the old rules that have lasted for more than a thousand years and establish a new social order. A hundred years from now, he will be a great reformer who will go down in history.
This is the highest achievement in a literary man's life!
There was no room for Xiao Yu, an orthodox Confucian scholar, to remain unmoved.
But he also knew that this was an arduous and difficult project, with too many dangers and temptations; relying solely on their strength, it would be difficult to correct the bad habits left over from history, and it would be difficult to restrain the vast number of officials. On track. Therefore, he and the Prefecture and Mufu Bureau need more officials who know the law and are honest and upright, instead of relying on him alone to support them like now.
To be honest, facing the entire Liangzhou bureaucracy by himself, he was really powerless and powerless.
You must find yourself a like-minded and capable person.
After thinking about it, Xiao Yu already had a suitable candidate in mind, and started writing on the letterhead. However, when he just wrote the four words "Xian Dao Xiandi...", there was a noise outside the door. When he looked up, he saw a soldier walking in with a strong man.
"See Fa Cao!" the soldier saluted.
"What's the matter?"
"Report to Fa Cao!" the soldier said, "This man's name is Wei Ergou. He has been wandering outside the door for a long time. After asking, the humble officials found out that he is here to redress his grievances."
When Xiao Yu heard this, his eyes moved from the soldier to the strong man, and he said kindly: "If you have any grievances, just tell me, I can make the decision for you."
"Yes!" When Wei Ergou saw Xiao Yu's gentle manner and kind demeanor, he felt good about him, and his uneasiness faded a lot. As soon as he heard Xiao Yu's question, he told his grievances.
Wei Ergou was a tenant of the Suo family in Guazhou.
The head of the Suo family, Soden, was Zhang Dinghuang's brother-in-law and was very powerful in Guazhou. His property was all in the western part of Daze Lake north of Yumen Pass.
Guazhou Daze Lake is formed by the Shule River system where the melted water from the Qilian Mountains’ ice and snow gathers. This is also caused by the special terrain of the Hexi Corridor. The Qilian Mountains in the south are covered with ice and snow all year round. In summer, after the ice and snow melt, a large amount of melted water collects into several streams. Hundreds and thousands of large and small rivers flow to the north, nourishing the fertile land and ultimately creating the prosperity of the Hexi Corridor.
When the river continues to flow northward and reaches low-lying areas, lakes of different sizes are formed. Lakes such as Xiutuze and Yezhuze in Liangzhou and Juyanze in northern Ganzhou are all famous lakes in the Hexi Corridor. , surrounded by lush pasture and vast grasslands, it has always been the largest horse breeding farm in the Sui Dynasty, and also supported the strength of the Sui Dynasty's cavalry.
Daze Lake is located more than a hundred miles northwest of Yumen Pass. During the Sui Dynasty, its area was as huge as Juyanze, where weak waters gathered. The water was as vast and as vast as the sea. It was surrounded by lush pastures and was dotted with large pastures and endless forests. , fertile land.
This unique treasure land was originally the habitat of local people and herdsmen. However, as the world changed, it was slowly annexed by powerful people. Now, it has been divided up by the eight major families of Guazhou. In addition, it is also the Guazhou Silk The road is one of the main routes leading north to Illinois, so the Daze Lake area, where animal husbandry, agriculture, and "service industries" are developed, has become the foundation for the prosperity and glory of the eight major families.
Wei Ergou was backed by Sox, one of the eight powerful men. He also had his own land and lived a pretty good life.
His case occurred four years ago, when he was still relatively young. When he reached age, his family arranged a good marriage for him, and the object was the daughter of a Southern Dynasty nobleman who was sent to Dunhuang by Yang Jian.
Since this nobleman and his tribe moved to Dunhuang and Chongbian, they could not compete with the six major families and fell into decline. In order to start a war with them, they had to integrate into the local area and marry Wei Ergou, who was of low status but had a backer. Wei Ergou's wife was well-informed and very beautiful, and the couple lived quite well after their marriage. Unfortunately, when the newlywed wife was visiting her husband at Daze Lake, she was bumped into by the owner of the family, Soden.
Seeing that Mrs. Wei was young, beautiful, dignified and intelligent, Soden became evil-minded and had someone drag Mrs. Wei into his room. What happened after that was a bit cliche, Wei couldn't bear the humiliation and committed suicide.
In fact, it was very common in this era for the head of the family to seize slaves and enjoy the wives and daughters of tenants. However, Wei Ergou, who was of Hu-Han descent, was not only a man, but also capable. After learning that his beloved wife had been humiliated and died, he went to Soden in anger to ask for revenge. justice.
But not only did he not find justice, but he had an arm and a leg broken. In addition, Soden was angry and the dignity of the family owner was seriously challenged. Zhang Dinghuang, his sister-in-law who was the Prime Minister of Yumen County at the time, took over dozens of members of the Wei Ergou and three clans. He was arrested and taken to prison, and news of his death soon came. What was even more egregious was that he designated this sensational massacre of genocide as a case of rebellion, and branded Wei Ergou's family and his father-in-law's family as Dunhuang horse thieves. Then Zhang Dinghuang passed his predecessor The governor and general manager He Ruohuaikuo worked hard to make the memorial arrive at the court, and the case became a hero. Zhang Dinghuang, the prime minister of Yumen County, was both civil and military and served the country with loyalty. He led two hundred county soldiers to annihilate a group of nearly a thousand and extremely vicious horse thieves. story.
The reason why Zhang Dinghuang became the governor of Guazhou, this heroic deed that made people praise and cry, can be said to have made great contributions.
As a victim, Wei Ergou not only failed to get justice, but also had his clan exterminated and was beaten as a horse thief. He was extremely resentful and unwilling, but he had no choice. After he recovered from his injuries, he waited for an opportunity to take revenge and prepared to die with Zhang Dinghuang, the executioner. , but it is a pity that the ordinary people of this era want to take revenge on the high-ranking officials who support them, which is undoubtedly a fantasy.
He was alone and impoverished, with no opportunity for revenge. He was extremely painful and desperate in his heart, and he died several times. However, when he thought about the dozens of innocent relatives who died tragically and needed to redress their grievances and clear their names, he lived with hatred and pain.
With the vigorous implementation of Yang Ji's anti-corruption policy and the arrival of Xiao Yu, who was in charge of the Liangzhou Criminal Cao, Wei Ergou saw a glimmer of hope, so he wanted to give it a try. It would be best if he could get revenge. Even if he couldn't, the result would not be worse. bad.
After listening to Wei Ergou's explanation, Xiao Yu leaned on his chair and closed his eyes to think.
Xiao Yu was born in the royal family, grew up in a noble family, and served as an official in Liangzhou. He had heard and seen too many tragic things like Wei Ergou.
Most of the time, there is no chance for such cases to be filed. Many poor victims can only die with all kinds of infamy. But Liangzhou is different now. Xiao Yu knows very well what Yang Ji wants and what he wants. What to do. So this case gave him an extra sharp knife.
After a long time, Xiao Yu slowly opened his eyes and said to Wei Ergou word by word: "In Liangzhou, if someone makes trouble for nothing and falsely accuses an official, it is a serious crime! Do you know this?"
"The common people know! Please ask the legal officer to make the decision for the common people." Wei Ergou has been like a patient who has been ill for a long time in these years. In order to take revenge, he not only learned the law, but also paid close attention to Liangzhou's political decrees. This is why he dared to show up to complain. main reason.
"Very good!" A glint flashed in Xiao Yu's eyes, and he turned to the soldier and said, "Go to the state capital and invite me to the governor Wang."
"Here!" The soldier bowed his hands and strode away.
"You came at the wrong time!" Xiao Yu said to the confused Wei Ergou with a smile.
Wei Ergou looked at Xiao Yu blankly and asked in confusion: "What does Fa Cao mean?"
"Your case is so important that I alone can't handle it; we also need the cooperation of Governor Wang Bian and the army!" Xiao Yu shook his head and sighed: "And it seems that all the Guazhou garrison went to Shanshan. If not A lot of troops, we all have to wait.”
"Ah~?" Wei Ergou was confused. He knew that the army mainly fought wars and did not have the right to ask questions about local political affairs, let alone interfere in local government affairs and cases. However, Xiao Yu actually said that his case required the cooperation of the army, and he also had to A large number of troops.
His own tragedy was so serious that it required a large number of troops? The thought was unexpected.
"Wait patiently, the government will give you justice." Xiao Yu comforted Wei Ergou and stopped talking.
It is easy to take down Zhang Dinghuang, but the difficulty lies in how to catch all the eight surnames behind him, including Zhang and Suo.
Guazhou is located in a frontier area with high mountains and distant emperors, a mixture of Hu and Han people, and strong folk customs. Therefore, the eight deep-rooted families are similar to the nomadic people. They not only have their own pastures, pastures, and horse farms, but also a large number of private individuals who serve as servants and herdsmen. Armed, coupled with the previous appearance of horse thieves, these private armed forces who fought all year round were more powerful than the private armies of the Guanlong nobles.
Since the eight major families have such strength and the geographical advantage of fleeing to the Turks, how could the Zhang family and Suo family involved in the case be captured without any help?
If Guazhou doesn't have a strong army in charge, and he takes action rashly, I'm afraid not only will he not be able to kill Zhang and Suo, but they will capture all the cities in Guazhou. Therefore, we must be cautious and cautious, and we must not act based on enthusiasm alone.
But even if the army is there, a small-scale war might still start. You must take precautions and be prepared for a war. As his strength was not in marching and fighting, and he was not able to assess the military strength of the eight major families, it would be better to discuss a sound strategy with Wang Bian, who was both civil and military, good at conquering and familiar with the local area.
Not long after Wei Ergou was taken away for protection in a daze, Wang Bian, who was working in the state capital, hurried over.
Wang Bian was originally a lieutenant general in the eighth command of the East Palace. Due to Yang Ji's recommendation and Yang Guang's help, Yang Jian promoted him to be the governor of Guazhou. When Yang Guang ascended the throne and became emperor, the princelings who had been united in the past fell apart and began to A fight broke out, and Wang Bian, the imperial party, was also included in the Wei Wang family.
Since Wang Bian relied on Yang Ji to rise to power, and what Yang Ji did was not only in line with the emperor's wishes, but also benefited the country and the people, and Yang Ji was his superior, Wang Bian acquiesced to this division.
Xiao Yu did not hide anything from Wang Bian during this trip. He naturally knew what Xiao Yu was here for.
After hearing Xiao Yu's expression and concerns, Wang Bian couldn't help but smile and said: "Xiao Xingcao's concerns are very true, but the military strength of the eight major surnames in Guazhou is no longer what it used to be. If we want to catch them all, we must It’s not difficult, and there’s no need to worry about a war breaking out.”
Xiao Yu was surprised and happy, and asked curiously: "Why? Please tell the governor Wang."
Wang Bian said: "The reason why the eight major families have become so rich and powerful is that most of their ancestors were military and political officials in Qianliang and Xiliang. After the demise of these two dynasties, they used the armies left by their ancestors to annex other small and medium-sized families. . This situation continued until the early days of the founding of the emperor. Later, they used the names of horse thieves and sand thieves to rob passing merchants, attack towns, and attack opponents, and finally achieved the purpose of amassing wealth and raising an army privately. Until Zhou Mu took office and General Mai arrived, Their good days are over.”
A smile of understanding and relief appeared on Xiao Yu's face. The Guazhou Army initially only had 5,000 people, but when Yang Ji became the General Manager of Liangzhou, he gave the General Manager of Guazhou Mai Tiezhang a quota of 50,000, and Mai Tiezhang had a quota of 50,000. Iron Staff expanded the army to fifty thousand in less than three years. Although the people who made up this army included slaves from the six major Dunhuang families who were forced to release good people, most of them were horse thieves and sand thieves from within the territory.
Since the eight major families, in the name of horse thieves and sand thieves, have done illegal things, they must have suffered a lot from the Mai Tiezhang.
It's just that he only knew that Guazhou's bandit suppression project was in full swing before, but he didn't expect that what the Mai Iron Staff was destroying was the private army of the eight major families that had turned into horse thieves and sand thieves, so he had the worries before.
Now as soon as I am reminded, all worries disappear.
"It seems that Xiao Xingcao has also thought of it." Wang Bian saw Xiao Yu's knowing smile and said with a smile: "Yes, General Manager Mai wiped out all the horse thieves and sand thieves in the territory in just one year. The eight major families already had a bad reputation. When Manager Mai launched a violent campaign, they did not dare to recall them. In order to avoid being implicated, they had no choice but to give up on the 'horse thieves and sand thieves'. After that, there were various As the government was pressing hard, they naturally retreated step by step and gave up many illegally plundered properties."
Wang Bian glanced at Xiao Yu and continued to say with a smile: "The eight major families originally settled in Yumen County, but next to it was Ganzhou where the Prefectural Mufu's Office was located. They were afraid of being purged, so they all evacuated to Dunhuang, the hub of the Silk Road. .”
"Very good!" A flash of light flashed in Xiao Yu's eyes, and he cupped his hands to Wang Bian and said: "Prince Wang, I want to hear this case publicly. Please lead troops to seal the city gate and no one can enter or leave! Also invite Zhang Dinghuang."
"It is our duty!" Wang Bian said solemnly.
