In essence, the so-called governing the country means tearing down the east wall to repair the west wall, treating the head when it hurts and the foot when it hurts.
In a huge empire, I don’t know how many incidents and problems will occur every day. Some are good and some are bad. Some may not be solved and can only be delayed. Some are easy to solve and can only be solved by killing people. Others cannot be postponed or delayed. Solve it immediately, such problems are often a big trouble.
What King Teng said was quite troublesome to Li Qinzai.
On the surface, the problem of more than a dozen states and counties resisting the planting of sweet potatoes does not seem to be a big one. The worst case scenario is that the imperial court abandons these dozen states and counties and does not plant them. For the huge Tang Empire, these dozen The sweet potato production in the state and county will not be greatly affected.
But, that's just the appearance.
From the perspective of Li Zhi and the imperial prime minister Gongqing, more than a dozen states and counties resisted the imperial decree, which was a big problem.
It may not be that serious to say that they rebelled, but they actually resisted centralization of power and resisted the emperor's edict, which was an act of disobedience.
How to solve?
Li Zhi issued an edict to dismiss all officials from more than a dozen states and counties?
If governing the country was so simple, everyone could be an emperor.
Today, the emperor and the elites still govern the world. To be precise, in Chang'an City or the Guanzhong and Gyeonggi areas, the emperor is the undisputed boss. Anyone who dares to disobey will join a good family in the next life.
But outside the Gyeonggi region, the emperor and local clans were basically in the form of joint-stock companies. Of course, the emperor was still the undisputed chairman, and other local clans were major shareholders.
The chairman's executive orders are usually followed and implemented by shareholders.
But if the shareholders have objections to the chairman and decide to join forces to resist the chairman's order, and everyone comes together to collect shares, the chairman's shares will be less than 51%. This situation is not easy to say. .
Members of the aristocratic families must lie down in Chang'an City, and whatever the emperor says will be done.
But at the local level, the influence of aristocratic families on the landlord class and the common people was actually greater than the imperial power.
In most cases, local officials did not dare to resist the edicts issued by the Chang'an court and could only cooperate and implement them honestly.
But if the clans were resentful of the Tang Dynasty and wanted to resist, it would be really difficult for the imperial decree to be implemented locally.
This is the current situation in Jiangnan Lingnan Road.
The nobles joined forces to resist the imperial decree, but they could not be said to have rebelled, although what they did was indeed an act of disobedience.
Because this place has a soft confrontation with the central court, this kind of thing has happened in every dynasty.
From King Wu's attack on Zhou, to the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion in the Han Dynasty, the Eight Kings Rebellion in the Western Jin Dynasty, etc., they all actually started from the soft confrontation between the local government and the central government.
At the beginning of the incident, without any real evidence, the local power was too large and it was inconvenient for the central court to deal with it.
It is unrealistic to accuse local officials. The clans have been running the place for hundreds of thousands of years. There are inextricably linked relationships between the local officials and the clans. Or the officials are the clan's former retainers. The court moved them and also followed them. There is no difference in moving gate valves.
We can't scare the snake, for fear of forcing the local clan to rebel, but we can't let it go, for fear that the clan will become powerful in the local area. If things go on like this, the court will really lose control of this area.
A small incident of promoting sweet potato cultivation has triggered such a serious and complex crisis after a little reflection.
Li Qinzai had a headache.
It was not without reason that Li Zhi and Empress Wu vowed to weaken the power of the aristocratic families throughout their lives. They had caused too much harm to the Tang Dynasty.
But the couple had been working hard for a lifetime, but the results were not great. Until the death of Empress Wu, the power of the family still existed.
In Chinese history, when did the aristocratic families really decline?
It's a bit ironic to say that it was Huang Chao who did it.
That's right, it's the evil star descending from the sky, the rebel Huang Chao who wears golden armor all over the city.
The rebel army is sweeping across the world. It doesn't matter what royal family members you have, or how awesome your clan is. If it falls into my hands, it will be chopped with a knife.
No matter how powerful the family is in the local area, or how many elites come from the family, in Huang Chao's eyes, they are all like two-legged sheep. The only difference is that the meat is thick and the meat is tender.
What the central court had failed to achieve despite several generations of gentle fire and gentle governance, Huang Chao was able to accomplish it with a single blow.
Realizing the seriousness of the matter, Li Qinzai's expression became a little solemn.
"It's a bit tricky. It can't be solved by questioning a few officials." Li Qinzai said with a wry smile.
Prince Teng glanced at him and hummed: "What do you have to say? If it can be solved by simply questioning a few officials who resisted the government order, would I have to rush all the way back to Chang'an from Jiangnan?"
"These dozen states and counties have been monolithically managed by the prominent families in the south of the Yangtze River. Most of the state and county officials come from the prominent families in the south of the Yangtze River. Their resistance to planting sweet potatoes is naturally the result of the instructions of the local clans."
"If we only remove these officials, we will still treat the symptoms but not the root cause. The imperial decree will still not be implemented. On the contrary, it will intensify the conflict between local clans and the imperial court, and the gains will outweigh the losses."
Li Qinzai pondered for a long time and suggested unconfidently: "What if a tough official went down to inspect and supervise the planting of sweet potatoes? For example, Liu Rengui..."
King Teng said dissatisfiedly: "What do you mean? Isn't my head strong? No matter how big officials are sent, they will still not be able to use their power when they get to the local area. The interests of local forces and officials are too entangled, and anyone who gets there will be tied up. , can’t do anything.”
Li Qinzai sighed and said: "It seems that this matter can only be reported to the emperor. Let the big guys discuss and decide. A weak and delicate flower like me can only be kept in a greenhouse. The strong winds and waves outside are too scary... …”
Prince Teng showed a disgusted expression and said coldly: "If you want to stay out of the matter, I'm afraid it won't be that easy."
"When I returned to Chang'an, I didn't even go back to the palace. I just came to your house. Why do you think that's the case?"
"Back in Chang'an City, you killed hundreds of people from the eight prominent families in Jiangnan. You were the one who offended them. Sweet potato cultivation cannot be promoted in Jiangnan, and you are the culprit."
As he spoke, Prince Teng's tone suddenly became low and hoarse, and his eyes became deeper, like a domineering CEO staring at the weak and helpless little girl.
"You light the fire, and you put it out yourself."
…………
Tai Chi Palace.
Li Qinzai and Prince Teng were sitting in the main hall, looking helpless.
Li Zhi and Empress Wu frowned deeply. The couple looked at each other from time to time, seeing the same look in each other's eyes.
The look of helplessness as he wanted to kill someone but couldn't bring up the knife.
"Your Majesty, this is probably what happened. I was hampered everywhere in Jiangnan Road. State and county officials were lazy and passive and did not cooperate with me. Farmers in various villages were also deceived and refused to plant new grains. I was struggling to make progress in Jiangnan and Lingnan. It’s too difficult.” Prince Teng smiled bitterly.
Li Zhi's expression was ugly, he lowered his head in silence, not knowing what he was thinking.
For a long time, Li Zhi gritted his teeth bitterly: "These noble families are becoming more and more courageous. They dare to disobey the government's decrees. If things go on like this, they will gather troops to rebel!"
(End of chapter)
