Just as the Four Capital Trials were in full swing, two major events happened:
In Jiangxi, Yang He broke through the siege of the army and entered Hunan, but encountered an extremely fierce Miao-Han regiment. As a result, Yang He, who was not affected by the elite officers and soldiers, was actually killed by an arrow in a small-scale sneak attack and became a Miao patrolman. Inspect envoy Li Shou's trophies.
After hearing the news, Lou Shiyong, who was desperate, finally agreed to accept the recruitment.
He demobilized most of the remaining troops and accepted the reorganization with 1,700 people. He was appointed as Huining garrison guerrilla, responsible for garrisoning Huining and Anyuan counties in southeastern Jiangxi to guard against unrest in Miao and Yao villages in the mountains.
News came from the grassland that the Huila and Seyan tribes of Egu frequently appeared near the Great Wall, and the Luyan tribe also showed signs of entering Liaodong.
The emperor urgently summoned Qimeier Khan into the palace. After detailed questioning, he found out that there had been less rain on the grasslands for two years. The herdsmen were worried that if there was no white disaster (blizzard), it would mean a more serious drought, so they fled south.
"What about the Qing's Ula tribe, as well as Kerge and Bria, what do they usually do?" Zhao Tuo immediately realized that there was something he didn't say, and there might be a huge danger hidden in it.
"His Majesty the Emperor can think of this, which means that your kindness has begun to spread across the grassland!" Qimeier Khan actually said something flattering, and Zhao Tuo blushed slightly with joy.
Just listen to him continue to say: "Bria is fine. They are used to domesticating and adapting to moose further north. The animals are cold-resistant and drought-resistant and have strong skin. They don't have many cattle and horses, so they will not be affected too much.
If that doesn't work, you can still go to the Urals, the grasslands over there are so vast!
My Ula was okay. At worst, I would go west and go to the Tianshan Mountains to fight with Yerqiang. When it started to snow and no one could move, they had no choice but to endure it. Anyway, they knew that I wouldn't do it. Don't leave.
The most troublesome is Kerge. If he goes south, he will squeeze Hui La, Lu Yan and even go to Se Yan's territory. These three are no match for him, so they must either join forces to fight against the enemy, or they can only hide in the Great Wall... "
Listening to what he said, Zhao Tuo suddenly thought that there was a reason why Wula came to pay tribute at this time and kept a very low profile. This old fox had already foreseen that Kelge would go south after the disaster, so coming to Shangjing was a trick planned by him.
No, it might have been Taishi Tuobigu who gave him the idea. "So, in your opinion, what should we do now?" Zhao Tuo asked with a smile.
As expected, Qimeier Khan patted his chest and said that as long as he went back and united with the three troops to fight against Kerge and repel the evil wolf on the grassland, everything would return to peace.
Of course, he is alone and needs more support from the emperor, so that he can have a greater chance of winning.
Zhao Tuo did not agree immediately. He asked Qi Mierhan to go back first and allow himself to think about it. He originally wanted to send Liu Xi to ask Li Dan for advice, but remembered that he was still in the examination room and had to give up.
He walked to the desk and found the reply letter he had written to himself when he excitedly told Li Dan that Wula's tribe was coming to pay tribute. Zhao Tuo sat down and read the letter twice more, with a smile on his lips.
He waved Eunuch Liu over and said, "Find someone to come here, I want to draft an edict." Eunuch Liu looked at him with a slightly surprised look, turned around and went out, and soon brought someone back from the duty room at the entrance of the palace.
"Your Majesty, Li, I have seen the Holy Master. I wish your majesty good health!"
"Hey, why is it you?" The emperor was overjoyed when he saw Li Zhu. After giving him a seat, he asked him, "Why did you wish me well just now?"
Li Zhu was surprised: "Your Majesty, you forgot? Today is the Spring Equinox."
"Oh!" The emperor slapped his forehead: "I have all these tricks in my heart, and I am so confused!" He said with a self-deprecating smile, and then made a joke and asked: "My brother is in the examination room, and you are by my side. Do you think he is nervous or you are nervous?"
Li Zhu chuckled and cupped his hands and replied: "Your Majesty, don't spoil this kid too much. He is just like a monkey. When he is happy, his tail will shoot up to the sky. He has to be beaten with a mallet at any time!"
Zhao Tuo was stunned and laughed loudly: "They are really brothers. You two talk like one of the same family! Come on, I have a problem here. Since I can't find him, I want to ask your opinion."
Li Zhu was startled and quickly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I am afraid that my duty is not to interfere in political affairs.
"
"Hey, I'm just listening to everyone, and I don't mean to ask you to get involved in politics." After that, Zhao Tuo talked about the grassland situation and the possibility of a serious drought this summer, and asked:
"Khemer Khan is now asking the Celestial Empire to allocate money and food, and he has promised to unite all the tribes to fight against Kerge. Do you think I should agree to his request?"
"Your Majesty, Brother Dan once saw people from the Egu tribute mission hunting outside the city. When he told me about this, he said:
It will be a great joy in life to be able to establish counties on the grassland one day. Chen said at the time that he took it for granted. He said that it was actually not difficult to do. "
"Oh?" Zhao Tuo became interested and immediately sat forward: "Did he explain in detail what he could do?"
"Yes." Li Zhu nodded: "Brother Dan said that setting up counties on the grassland cannot be done in a day, nor can it be done in a moment. It must be done step by step, and it will take decades of effort.
However, slow work will bring about careful work, and as long as part or half of the Egu people are included in the Chinese family, then Kerge or Bria will not be able to make big waves. "
Zhao Tuo nodded, quickly found a pencil and paper, and wrote down: "I'll keep it in mind, please continue!"
"What he meant was not to divide the entire grassland into counties at once, but to start from the places closest to the Great Wall and then gradually expand to the north. The so-called counties are also different from the state system in the mainland.
The minister asked him at that time whether this county was different from the counties in Qin and Han Dynasty? He replied that it was different.
Outside the Great Wall, there are a large number of Egu people, and there are few or even no Han people. Therefore, Dan Geer actually means a system of counties and counties where the Xu Egu people are autonomous.
For example, in places like Qingcheng, Jingzhou, and Shajing, Han people can farm within a few miles of the city. Outside this range, burning, felling, and farming are prohibited in pastoral areas. This is also conducive to maintaining the soil and water features.
The government affairs in the region are handled by the political affairs officers appointed by the imperial court, and the government affairs in the pastoral areas are handled by the political affairs officers elected by the Egu people. Both of them are responsible to the county magistrate.
County magistrates were selected by the Ministry of Personnel who were Egu children who had completed their studies at the Imperial College and had participated in the imperial examinations. At least one of the county magistrates or chief registrars should be Han Chinese.
In this way, Sinology can be promoted in the grassland and exert a subtle influence on it, and it can also meet the needs of the Egu people for self-governance.
In terms of finance and taxation, he suggested that the finance and taxes of newly built counties outside the Great Wall in the first ten years should be halved and allowed to be offset by livestock.
It doesn’t even have to be too precise, as long as it is stipulated that Aobao must pay one sheep every year. If you have the ability, you can also pay it in bulk. For example, if you pay one calf or pony last year, it will be worth four years of tax.
There are also commercial taxes. To encourage business exchanges between the two sides, the court can propose that commercial taxes and customs duties be halved within ten years. In this way, the number of caravans entering and exiting the customs will be greatly increased, and the tax revenue will be even higher than now!
In short, the grassland is vast and sparsely populated, and the herdsmen are impatient and bold, so any laws and regulations must be simple, clear, and fast!
He very much agreed with His Majesty's practice of conferring princes, princes, dukes, and marquises, and suggested that they could imitate the Han Dynasty in extending grace orders. The difference was that the lowest was assigned a marquis, so that they would not worry about their descendants losing their titles, and it would be easier to accept them. "
"Well, this is very important!" Zhao Tuo felt that this was his finishing touch. Li Dan agreed that it gave him a sense of accomplishment. After writing it down, he asked, "Is there anything else?"
"There is also the issue of the spread of religion. Dan Geer said that the previous dynasty allowed many religions to spread in the grasslands, so Bria believed in the Ye religion, Kerge believed in the Yellow religion, Yeerqiang believed in the Muslim religion, Huila and Lu Yan believed in the Taoism and Shamanism, while Ula and Seyan believe in Buddhism.
Taoism and Buddhism are within the control of Your Majesty. You must be wary of Yeerqiang and Bria who are dedicated to preaching.
At the same time, they severely cracked down on Kerge, who was also a member of the Yellow Sect and was close to Tubo and Qiang. If the Yellow Sect was allowed to grow in the south and north, and Wula and Seyan lost their pastures, then there would be no peace in the Central Plains! "
The emperor slowly raised his head in surprise: "I didn't expect that religion could have such a powerful power?"
"Your Majesty, I think Brother Dan is right. Throughout history, religion has been behind many things, such as the Zhangjiao Rebellion, Huang Chao, Fang La, and Han Lin'er at the end of the previous dynasty. These are all
Inside.
The war between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty and the separatist rule of Dali and Xixia are all related to religion. Your Majesty must be cautious! "Li Zhu answered with his hands raised.
"Hiss...!" Zhao Tuo frowned.
"Dang Geer said that it is one thing to allow the development of religion and encourage the contention of a hundred schools of thought, but it is another thing to control it so that it does not influence public opinion and endanger the rule. I think about it carefully, and it is indeed true.
He gave examples of the four exterminations of Buddhism by Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, and Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty. Most of them were because the monasteries concentrated wealth and attracted people's hearts after the Tantric Buddhism came from the east, endangering the stability of the regime. Therefore, those in power had to ruthlessly prohibit it. .
I heard from friends at the Seiyi Pavilion of the Hanlin Academy that all the tribes in Keer are headed by the Huang Jiao monk, and the ruling decisions must be made with the approval of monks, masters, waishan (guru) and Vajra at all levels before they can be implemented. This is no longer normal. religion. .
In Dan Geer's words, it is a combination of politics and religion. If this situation spreads to the Ula, Seyan, Huila and Luyan tribes, what will your Majesty think? "
Zhao Tuo felt bad when he heard this, and he felt the hairs on his back stand up. If a few verbose Confucian scholars can't bear it themselves and want him to be at the mercy of the monks, then it's better to replace him with someone else!
"Politics, economics, and religion have all been discussed, but how to deal with military power on the grassland?"
"The large military power belongs to the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army, and the small military power belongs to the enfeoffed nobles." Li Zhu continued: "My brother once mentioned that he wanted to give you a suggestion, which can be considered in conjunction with the topic of enfeoffment.
The division of the grassland tribes was based on the original Marching Ten Thousand Households system. In other words, these seven tribes were actually the seven remaining Ten Thousand Households from the previous dynasty, but their strength had long surpassed the Ten Thousand Households. Not going well. "
Li Zhu smiled and said, "So my brother's original intention is to help them get their name right on the surface, but in reality it restricts the use of their military power.
His idea was to designate these seven ten thousand households as princes and princes, and then divide their subordinates into several banners. For example, Ula could be divided into front, rear, left, right, and middle five banners. If it was not enough, it could be divided into wing armies, The guard's front and rear flags.
Each banner can have its own duke, the court can transfer princes and dukes, and princes and county princes can transfer marquises. The transfer of dukes must be approved by the Governor-General of the Fifth Army in advance.
However, he also said that these ideas cannot be pushed forward at once, but should be carried out step by step. He very much agreed with His Majesty's approach. He first attracted the first and second departments to set an example, and then gradually promoted it.
For example, for those ministries that are not willing to implement the county system, you can also form a banner and be granted a title, and you can manage it yourself.
However, descendants are not allowed to enter the Imperial Academy, serve as officials or join the bodyguards. If the court does not assign officials to them, of course they will not encourage Han people to farm with them, and business taxes cannot be reduced or exempted. "
"Ha, what a plan!" The emperor laughed loudly. He basically understood Li Dan's idea of "inducing each other with benefits". "So, what you said means that I should agree to Qimier's request?" he asked.
"As long as Qimeier Khan swallows His Majesty's bait, there is no problem. Compared with the sacrifice of a little food and grass, including large areas of grassland and herdsmen within the empire's territory is the most beneficial and long-term approach for future generations!" Li Zhu Answered deeply.
The emperor smiled and nodded: "Well said, sir!"
"What is the purpose of your Majesty's summons?" Li Zhu reminded.
"Let's not think about it for now." Zhao Tuo waved his hand: "I originally thought about taking this opportunity to let Xiang Hu prepare some money and food, and then see if Qimeier and Kerr can fight each other. Now it seems that my idea is simple!
Forget it, today is a solar term anyway, so I’d better go see Lian Bi and the others how to fly kites and erect eggs, and then go to Sihaiju to try fried toon sprouts and pumpkin tips.
. Well, I still have to listen to Taichang Temple's report on the sacrifices at the Sun Altar. I'll leave this matter alone for now, I'll think it over carefully before making a decision. "
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
However, I couldn't wait for the emperor to make careful arrangements.
Soon, the Ministry of War received an urgent report. Liaodong had already had a serious conflict with the Luyan herdsmen who were going south. The officers and soldiers who were actively seeking military honors ambushed and killed more than 300 men and captured more women. and children.
Zhao Tuo was furious and scolded Gu Lin, Minister of the Ministry of War, and Yang Shi'an, the left minister.
The dog's head is bloody. But these two people were wronged. How could they know the emperor's thoughts, let alone predict what would happen thousands of miles away.
Gu Lin firmly resisted the emperor's insistence on investigating and prosecuting all officials below the governor of Liaodong and general Jinzhou. How does this work? After all, he is still the emperor and loyal to the court, and there is nothing wrong with being active in his work.
The depressed emperor returned to the Lifu Palace and could not sit still. Concubine Lian was afraid that he would anger others and drove all the maids and chamberlains away. Zhao Tuo had no place to vent, and suddenly he slapped the table and called Eunuch Liu: "Go and find Liu Xi for me!"
It happened that Li Dan had finished his second exam that day. Now that he had experience, he didn't even need to bring a basket. He only carried a satchel and walked out. When he saw Liu Xi, he was falling down anxiously outside the dragon gate, as if he was restless in the snow. cat.
Li Dan smiled slightly, walked over and asked, "Are the servants waiting for me?"
"Hey, my young master, you have come out!" Liu Xi said and grabbed him: "Quickly, find a secluded place, the emperor is almost dying of anxiety, and the slaves are almost driven crazy by him!"
Li Dan was surprised and didn't know what happened. He quickly took him to the carriage, closed the door and asked, "What happened?"
Liu Xi didn't say anything, but took out a brochure bag and said, "Please read this brochure first."
Li Dan took out the booklet and read it, and then Liu Xi muttered why the emperor was angry. After speaking, the other party felt nothing at all. "My Lord, aren't you angry and anxious?" he asked.
"Why are you angry and anxious?"
"Look at this group, the literati are making a big deal out of it, the generals only care about earning military merit, and the emperor is the most troublesome among them. Isn't this irritating?" Liu Xi looked filled with indignation.
Li Dan smiled and quickly explained: "I'm not laughing at you or the emperor, I'm laughing at these generals who are quite good at inserting themselves into something unintentionally."
"Ah? How do you say this?"
"You see, the emperor wants Lu Yan and other tribes to pay tribute, let them recognize the status of the leader of the Ula tribe, and accept Qimeier Khan to supervise them on behalf of the emperor.
Qimeierhan took the opportunity to ask the emperor for money, food, and swords, guns, and armor. He was not satisfied with the lack of what we gave him, and it was inappropriate for us to give too much.
How good it is now, Lu Yan was beaten, he must be thinking of finding a place to complain.
Kergotha did not dare to provoke anyone who was bigger than him, because he was his enemy; Qimer Khan, he was in the capital. What to do?
The best thing is to go to the capital to show your determination, complain, and get some benefits. Even if the prince can't get the prince, it's still okay.
The emperor gave him some compensation, some money, food, and weapons, and asked him to contain Kerge in the east.
Then the emperor told Qimeier Khan: Look, Lu Yan has come by himself. If you don't hurry up, Huira and Seyan will also come by themselves. By then, your achievements will not be that much, and I can't do anything. There are so many rewards for you.
Humph, do you think that Qimeierhan can still hunt calmly in the countryside? "
Liu Xi understood: "Hey, sir, let me tell you this, these guys in Liaodong have indeed done something good, right?"
"Shit, they didn't do good things. It was they who muddied the water. Let's help the emperor find a way to fish in troubled waters. It's not their fault that they just fixed the bad things." Li Dan sighed:
"To be more careful, the emperor is now going to implement a new policy towards the Egu people, treating them equally with the Han people as subjects of the imperial court. Therefore, the Egu people who have surrendered in the future cannot be killed like this, otherwise they will take credit for killing good people. No difference."
"This... I'm afraid the generals won't agree."
"Of course, they are not happy that they have no chance to gain military glory, but the most vicious enemies in this world are not only the Egu people, but there are always Egu people who will not surrender!"
"I understand, then would you like to give the emperor a proper reply?" Liu Xi asked.
Li Dan took out a pencil and paper from the drawer and wrote: "Turn disadvantages into advantages, induce Lu Yan to negotiate peace and encourage him to come to the DPRK, use Lu Yan to put pressure on Ulla, and make him restrain his greed." After thinking about it, he added:
"Not all frontier generals have an overall view of the overall situation, but those who only care about their own merits and enterprising spirit are not qualified and are not suitable for guarding the frontiers. They can be rewarded for their efforts by the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army.
It was transferred to the Mainland Command and Envoy Department for use. So good? Please come and consider. ” I read it again and wrote again:
"In addition, since ancient times, military merit has been calculated based on the rank of the head. This method has drawbacks and often leads to killing good men and taking merit. I ordered people to immediately send the "Military Merit Audit and Reward Measures" and "Military Rank Appraisal, Adjustment and Qualifications" compiled by the Raozhou Regiment Training Institute. "Calculation method" and submit it to the emperor as soon as possible."
Seeing that he had finished writing, Liu Xi happily accepted it and said with a sigh of relief: "Now the emperor can rest assured, all the slaves can be at ease, and even the Lian concubines can have a good sleep!"
