A traveler who has traveled thousands of miles, a thousand needles fall from his snow coat. The iron armor responds to the cold, and the straight road leaves the hooves. The mountain gate covers the night tent, and the sound of fighting is strange. The Tianshan Mountains are far away, and the Han banner is all over the western frontier!
In the autumn of the 13th year of Jingwu's reign, Li Dan, governor of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border area, organized a total of five divisions, namely the 9th, 10th, 11th, 15th and 20th divisions, as well as two independent brigades, five cavalry brigades and four artillery regiments to attack the enemy. Gansu Lanzhou and Liangzhou gathered together to begin the second phase of his mission:
The goal of the Gansu-Qinghai strategy is to eliminate the Jisi tribal forces entrenched in Ganzhou, Suzhou, Haixi and Shannan, and to realize the transformation of Gansu and Qinghai into counties based on the Ula model.
Last year's Zodiac Rebellion was quite powerful, affecting not only Shaanxi but also Gansu, Shanxi, Henan, Hebei, Zhili, Shandong, Hubei, and Shuntian.
However, due to the close cooperation between the Wing Dragon Guards and the Staff Division, many important leaders were captured in time, leaving most of the rebels lacking organization and coordination, and were eventually defeated one by one.
In particular, several senior officials led by Shaotianshi were beheaded and spread across nine provinces. After the Liao army reorganized the Eighth Division and entered Shandong, and the First and Fourth Divisions entered Hebei and Shuntian Prefecture respectively, the Zodiac followers quickly lost their courage. Only small groups remained, and no major chaos occurred.
The imperial court immediately issued a pardon order: within three months, followers of the Zodiac Sect should go to each township, town, and county inspection department to sign a warrant.
Former believers can be pardoned, and key members can be pardoned after serving five months to two years of hard labor. Those who refuse to surrender will be placed under surveillance at their place of residence and their movements will be restricted. Those who violate the law will also be held accountable according to criminal law.
After this method was introduced, most of the believers went to the government to serve as leaders. The few who thought they were smart enough to escape were exposed by their own people from time to time, and the punishment they received was even heavier!
The chief secretaries from various places organized visiting groups to visit the labor camp/camp in Shaanxi and were greatly inspired. They all took the "Measures for the Establishment and Operation and Management of the Shaanxi Road Labor Camp/Camp" and "Measures for Joint Venture and Cooperation of Government-run Projects" published by Li Dan. Go back and use it locally to meet the needs of various infrastructure projects.
The emperor was surprised to learn from the cabinet that the number of local governments that had been endlessly petitioning for funding for relief, maintenance, and new construction had been greatly reduced. When he investigated the reasons, he learned that many of them had contracted or auctioned development rights, use rights, and management rights, which had greatly reduced local finances. Got some autonomy.
He immediately thought of Li Dan's letter to him:
“It is necessary for local governments to have certain financial autonomy and should be encouraged but not allowed to go unchecked.
The central government should take the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Transport as the leaders and establish an 'Imperial Assets Colonization and Supervision Committee' under the Zhongshu Province.
Coordinate and arrange local government-run engineering projects and trading companies, supervise and promote the layout and proliferation of empire assets and capital, assist in the allocation of funds and materials, and supervise non-compliance during the implementation process.
Once left unchecked, corruption will become rampant! "
The emperor immediately ordered Zhongshu Province to establish this committee, appointed Wang Gan as the director of the committee, and replaced him as minister of industry and commerce with Chai Jin, the chief envoy of Guangdong and a bachelor of Wenxin Pavilion.
Wang Gan himself did not expect that it was Li Dan who recommended him, making him the one closest to the emperor among the ministers.
It is said that Li Dan told the emperor that the reason for his recommendation was that "this person is both a politician and a shrewd businessman, and he is prudent and loyal and can stand out from others in practical matters."
In fact, Li Dan did this not only because of his ability, but also because of his connections, his long-sleeved dancing style, and his origins in the Langwang family.
Knowing all this, Wang Gan naturally reciprocated the favor and strongly agreed with Li Dan's "New Shaanxi-Gansu Household Registration Management System." This system stipulates:
All imperial residents over the age of one have the right to apply for household registration and obtain household registration certificates. Their superiors, lords, employers, and elders may not block or prohibit them for any reason. Violators will be punished with ten whips for contempt of law and fined with hard labor for one to five years.
The above-mentioned "empire residents" refer to people who live in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border area on the date of the promulgation of the decree. After having household registration, they are protected by law, enjoy the same treatment as the subjects of the empire, and have the same rights and obligations.
The above-mentioned "residents of the empire" are not limited to industries or affairs, nor are they limited to nationality or family. They also include all lawbreakers except death penalty and pending prisoners, even prostituted slaves.
Within three months from the date of promulgation of this decree, all localities should clearly announce and read the decree to every village, township, town, county, and government. Residents can go to the local inspection station/bureau/division to go through relevant registration procedures, and register repeatedly. invalid.
If a girl is under twelve years old and a boy is under thirteen years old, his parents, adoptive parents or guardians can collect it on their behalf. The identity of the adoptive parents and guardians should be proved by applying to the county household house, and the household house is obliged to inspect it within 15 days. and issue a certificate.
Individuals should carry their household registration certificate with them at all times when going out for inspection, and each household is issued a household registration book for inspection and verification.
Residents who still do not have a household registration certificate after the registration deadline should be banned from their residences in accordance with inspection requirements, and cannot go out until they have obtained household registration. Residents traveling should bring their household registration certificate to the local household house and inspection station/bureau/division to apply for tax payment certificates and obtain road guides respectively.
Finally, it was specifically stipulated that residents of foreign vassals and non-Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border should apply for a travel permit at various passes and ferries, which has the same effect as a road guide.
The above-mentioned persons who live in this area for more than three months should go to the inspection department of the place of residence to apply for a half-year, one-year or three-year travel permit.
The personal and property safety of travel permit holders are protected by the laws of the region, but they are not allowed to buy or sell land or houses, nor are they allowed to engage in rental, financial, military, or official businesses.
This document recognized the "citizenship rights" of all residents for the first time, broke down the boundaries between men and women, nationalities and castes to give everyone equal rights for the first time, and put forward the concept of travel documents for foreigners and the rights of residents for the first time.
The reason why Zhao Tuo welcomed it was not only because it was tolerant and tolerant, but he also knew very well that Li Dan was aiming to clean up the hidden population, improve the control of local governments, and lay the groundwork for the next strategy of Gansu and Qinghai. Foreshadowing.
In the autumn of the 11th year of Jingwu, Suzhou garrison commander Wang Jinlong and Ganzhou garrison commander Tu Geli learned that the people sent to Xi'an failed to carry out the assassination and had been arrested. They killed the county magistrates of the two cities and raised the flag of rebellion.
Gao Maichen, the commander of Shangyi Army, was inspecting Shandan Guard at the time. He was caught off guard and suffered a major defeat. He led his troops to defend Yanzhi Mountain, using Shuiquan Castle and Gaogu Castle as their strongholds. They supported each other and stood firm.
However, among the cities and forts north of Shandanwei, only the high platform was still holding strong, and almost all the rest were lost or abandoned. Wang Jinlong and Tu Geli originally wanted to support King Su, but King Su closed the palace and refused to leave. He declared that if you want to force me, my whole family will commit suicide to show you.
The two of them had no choice but to hold up the captured King Gan and hold him to Jianyuan Xishou.
Li Dan already knew what the two of them were going to do from the results of the interrogation. Due to the weak control of the Ganzhou and Suzhou courts, Wang Jinlong was a Qiang noble chief and Tu Geli was a Dangxiang noble chief. They were both local The local emperor under the Jisi system had soldiers and power.
Li Dan took action against the enemy, so he wrote to the emperor to report and ask for instructions. Unexpectedly, the two of them could not calm down and took action first, but instead provided Li Dan with an introduction to intervene in Gansu and Qing Dynasty.
Zhao Tuo first learned that Wang and Tu had sent people to assassinate him, and he was furious. When it was handed over to the cabinet for discussion, I heard that they had rebelled.
There was an uproar in the court, and someone immediately jumped out and said that this was Li Dan's fault, and Li Dan should be removed from his post. This aroused Zhao Tuo's vigilance.
After careful observation and careful analysis, he found that most of the people who expressed their opinions were officials from Sichuan, Sichuan and Jinghu, while not many people from the North and Jiangnan spoke.
Yes, Li Dang just elected Chai Jin, a native of Zhejiang, and everyone in Jiangnan naturally remained silent.
At this time, Zheng Shou winked several times, but Han Wei frowned and said nothing. He had no choice but to step forward and say:
"Your Majesty, I think what my colleagues said is right. Li Dan is young and it is inevitable that he will not think carefully when doing things. It is inevitable that he will cause such a chaos."
"Oh?" Zhao Tuo narrowed his eyes: "How should we respond to what Prime Minister Zheng sees?"
"The veteran suggested that an important official be appointed to Shaanxi to replace Li Dan."
"Is there any candidate?"
"I recommend that Jiangxi Chief Secretary Zuo participates in the political affairs of Tang Xuan." Zheng Shou peeked at Zhao Tuo, and then continued: "Tang Xuan once experienced the Lou Yang rebellion, and was not afraid of danger. He assisted the two chief envoys to deal with it calmly and was quite capable."
The emperor thought of this man and sneered in his heart: "Oh, it's him. But this man has never led troops..."
"The governor is a civil official who controls military affairs. Having a strategy is more important than mastering martial arts and leading an army."
The emperor looked at Han Wei: "What is the opinion of the chief minister?"
Han Wei had communicated with Zheng Shou in advance, but Zheng Shou insisted on using his own candidates and disagreed with Han Wei's nomination of Tao Rong, a leftist political candidate from Sichuan. This made Han Wei very unhappy. He didn't want to follow Zheng Shou's wishes in everything. Ignoring him on purpose.
But when the emperor named him, he had to express his position. He quickly bowed and said: "The matter is urgent. It is better to transfer from a place as far away as Jiangxi than from Sichuan and Shu. I suggested sending Tao Rong, a left-wing political advisor from Sichuan, who has dealt with human rebellions before. He has more experience than Tang Xuan."
It was quiet now. The chief assistant has always followed Zheng Shou's lead. Why was he so upset today? The Jinghu officials were stunned and didn't know what to do.
The emperor knew very well that he knew Tao Rong didn't like the climate in Sichuan and had tried to deal with Han Wei many times. According to Yilongwei, he also donated 300 acres of land and a large forest in his hometown in Hubei to Han Wei's brother-in-law.
He smiled and looked at Zheng Shou again, meaning: Which of you should I listen to?
Zheng Shou said hurriedly: "Tang Xuan is young, so the hard work on the road is nothing. Besides, Mr. Zhao, who is involved in politics on the right, is very capable. Even if Tang Xuan is transferred, Jiangxi affairs will not be greatly affected.
But Sichuan is different. The right-wing political participation has not yet been in place. If the left-wing political participation is transferred away, wouldn't that make it difficult for the chief envoy? "
The emperor nodded, looked at Han Wei again, and saw that he immediately said a set of words to refute. After the two of them went back and forth like this for a few rounds, Zhao Tuo saw that the heat was almost done and waved his hand:
"Okay! Let me think about this matter again, and consider whether to replace your cabinet.
But even if there is no replacement, I still plan to let Wu Xianzhe return to the court and have another appointment. His Zuo Counselor does need to be replaced. Please ask Han Qing to come to the back after the court has dismissed this matter, and I will explain it to you carefully. "
After going to court, Han Wei angrily led Xia Shu to the Gong Provincial Hall to see him. "Why, Han Aiqing is still upset?" the emperor asked him with a smile when they met.
"Your Majesty, this old man Zheng has gone too far! After he retired from the court, he reprimanded his ministers in front of all the officials, as if he were the chief minister. He is arrogant and domineering and unbearable!" Han Wei sat down angrily. His chest was still rising significantly.
"What, you two are so angry that you are going to make a quarrel outside the palace?"
Han Wei was startled and stood up in a hurry: "I'm disrespectful and extremely confused. Your Majesty, please punish me."
Zhao Tuo put down the bowl in his hand with a clang. If Li Dan had been there, he would have gritted his teeth in distress. "You two were so good that you had to wear a pair of trousers. What happened today? Does he think Tao Rong's paddy fields and forests were not given to him?"
"Your Majesty, forgive me!" Han Wei couldn't stand and fell to his knees, prostrate, his body trembling slightly: "I, I only found out about this later... I was guilty of not being strict with my family!"
"Okay!" Zhao Tuo walked up to him with his hands behind his back: "The so-called 'could he be the king's minister'? I allow you to reach out and ask for it. If not, I would have asked you to hand it over long ago. Do you understand, my dear?"
Han said that there was sweat on his neck, and he explained clearly in a trembling voice. He also said that he was an old fool and asked to resign. Zhao Tuo sneered: "Have I ever asked you to resign? If not, what do you mean by resigning?" Han Wei did not dare to answer the next words and just kowtowed.
Zhao Tuo thought to himself that Li Sanlang commented that this person was swaying and had soft ears. It seemed that he was indeed not a good material for a first assistant, but he was still useful, so let's make do with it for now.
Thinking of this, he ordered Xia Shu to pull him up and sit him down. Then he sat down and said, "From what you say, you have a strong opinion of Zheng Shou? Why is that? Is there anything wrong with him?"
This sentence reminded Han Wei, and he immediately seized the opportunity: "This man is a traitor. I have known about it for a long time and have been on guard against him." After saying this, he told some of the things he knew about Zheng Shou's illegality, bribery, and power manipulation. .
Some emperors knew about it, but he didn't know about others. He was surprised but didn't show it on the surface, and asked:
"These things cannot escape the ears of the Winged Dragon Guard. You think this will shake my trust in Zheng Qing? I have tolerated him so far. Do you think I haven't heard what I said to you?"
Han Wei thought the same thing, gritted his teeth and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty is as generous and generous as the Wu and Tang sects of the Han Dynasty. However... I have just learned some shocking things recently, and I am afraid that even the Winged Dragon Guards may not know about it. .
It is precisely because I heard this that I have deliberately distanced myself from Zheng Tonglan, which means that I am gradually drawing a clear line. I wonder...do you want to hear it, Your Majesty? "
"Oh? What happened that caused the two of us to become estranged? Please tell me."
So Han Wei told the story about Zheng Shouzeng's dealings with the Goulan woman and how he asked the woman to come to him to talk to him. He later learned that the woman was a Kergo spy.
Seeing that the emperor was doubtful, he told the emperor that Zheng Shou also had contacts with Prince Teng, and had protected the leader Hou who had assassinated Prince Ding and Princess Miyun in the capital. Zheng Shou had also stayed in the Yellow Taoist sect, and had a heated relationship with the senior leaders of the sect in the middle of the capital. Tell the whole story.
The emperor's face became increasingly gloomy: "Since you know this, why don't you report it?"
"I am from the same hometown as Zheng Shou, and they are both officials recommended by the former King Xiang to serve as officials, so I am afraid of the rat. I know that I was wrong, and I beg your Majesty to forgive me!"
Han Wei knew that he had not been sitting on the position of chief minister for a long time, but he was determined to pull Zheng Shou down. He must not let him get this position after him!
Shortly after the Zodiac incident, Liu Mu, the commander of the Yilong Guard, reported to the emperor evidence that King Teng and individual ministers colluded with Kerge and the Zodiac. A lot of evidence points to Zheng Shou.
The emperor also heard from Li Dan that Zheng Shou had an affair with King Teng. After sending Han Wei away, he had been wandering alone in the hall. There was only Xia Shu beside him. He felt that he was fighting alone without anyone to discuss with him.
Eh! At this time, I really want to transfer Li Sanlang back. But he knew that the Shaanxi-Gansu trilogy had just completed the first step. If Li Dan was transferred back to the court, the rice in the west would be a mixed bag. He held back.
At the court meeting a few days later, Zheng Shou was the first to speak. He not only criticized Li Dan's strategy, but also believed that the chief minister should be responsible for it.
In front of the ministers present, he publicly asked the chief minister to resign and step down. However, he did not notice that the emperor's face was as gloomy as a dark cloud before the rain, almost dripping with water.
After he finished speaking enthusiastically, several censors from Huguang immediately took over and began to perform the drama of impeachment. Han Wei was shaking with anger, and the ministers were stunned again and didn't know what to do.
The emperor sighed secretly. He felt that he could not let this scandal continue, nor could he let the court be divided into different camps to fight each other. He signaled the palace officials to maintain order, and then asked Xia Shu to take out several decrees and read them out.
The first decree affirmed Li Dan's achievements and role. It was passed that Li Dan was awarded the Bachelor of Wenxin Pavilion and the Prince's Young Master for his merits. He was awarded the title of General of the State. He was appointed to serve as the deputy minister of political affairs in Shaanxi Province and the governor of the Fifth Army. , the remaining positions remain unchanged.
The second decree split the original Chief Secretary and Xingdu Secretary of Shaanxi and established three new Chief Secretaries of Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia. Gong Mian, the former right political minister of Shaanxi, worked hard and became the chief envoy of Gansu.
The former Ningxia Town was changed to Yinchuan Prefecture and became the administrative seat of Ningxia Chief Secretary. Yuan Kai, the right minister of the Ministry of War, was the first Chief Secretary. Bingguang, who was formerly a political rightist in Guizhou, was transferred to Qinghai as chief envoy.
The third decree split the Guangdong and Guangxi into two chief envoys, namely Guangdong and Guangxi. He Bing, the former right-wing political envoy of Guangdong and Guangxi, was appointed as the chief envoy of Guangxi.
In the fourth part of the decree, Tang Xuan was relieved of his post as Jiangxi's leftist political advisor and returned to Beijing to report on his work.
The fifth decree made Zheng Shou's mind go blank. The emperor used his recent poor health as an excuse to allow him to temporarily leave the court and return home to recuperate.
The first three decrees not only gave Li Dan higher status and honors, but also clearly made him the top person in charge of the four northwest provinces. At the same time, he fully adopted his suggestion of using two provinces as a pilot split.
The latter two decrees relegated Zheng Shou to the cold palace, and also inexplicably wiped out Tang Xuan. Everyone looked at each other, not knowing why.
The most terrifying thing was that after the court dispersed, several Winged Dragon Guards suddenly appeared behind Zheng Shou and surrounded him. They didn't know what they said to him. Zheng Shou suddenly pushed them away and wanted to turn around, but was held up by the captains and faced the rebels. direction to go.
In full view of everyone, he walked out of the Zuoyin Gate, put him into a carriage, and headed east out of the Chongguang Left Gate. That's the direction to the Zhongfang Division.
