"The land of abundance, the city of splendid beauty, Chengdu is such a wonderful place!" Riding his horse at a light gallop, followed by a group of soldiers, Zhao Kuangyin casually inspected the streets of Chengdu.
The road is wide, the place is quiet, and there are many wealthy families around, but half of them are empty. Well, they have all been arrested and accused by the Han army for various reasons. The rest, aware of Zhao Kuangyin and his group, hid in the house and peeked through the cracks in the door.
Looking at the closed houses around, one can fully imagine how uneasy the voyeuristic eyes behind the doors must be!
"Alas!" Zhao Kuangyin sighed heavily.
"Dushuai, why do you like to sigh so much lately?" Dang Jin, who was almost becoming the bodyguard general beside Zhao Kuangyin, followed him. Hearing his sigh, he couldn't help but murmured: "Do you still sympathize with those people?"
"I just think that Xiang Shuai's approach is too harsh. It will easily arouse the indignation of the Shu people and is not conducive to the stability and consolidation of Sichuan and Shu! Furthermore, such an approach will damage the consolidation of military discipline and the construction of the army! Since entering Behind Chengdu, many soldiers are confused. If this continues, I'm afraid the army will be corrupted..." Zhao Kuangyin sighed: "Chengdu is like this. It is still under our control. How long will it be rectified? But the troops guarding various places are still under our control. Where are the generals? Without supervision, I'm afraid they will indulge too much and cause chaos!"
After hearing what he said, Dang Jin disagreed and said: "The soldiers destroyed Shu and went through many hardships and dangers, so they should be rewarded. Moreover, they did not burn, kill and loot. Those who bully others and rely on their power to make money should be punished and returned to Shu." To provide justice to the common people and clarify the world, why should we worry too much if we are all handsome? Furthermore, don’t you also hate those who are corrupt, bend the law, and commit crimes?”
Even Dang Jin can say such a truth. Obviously, Xiang Xun's ideological construction is still in place on the matter of liquidating the powerful officials and bureaucrats in Shu, and he has reached a consensus with the generals. Of course, if it weren't for the large amount of military supplies obtained through confiscation, they would probably not really believe it.
In fact, Zhao Kuangyin's mental journey regarding this matter is relatively complicated. At first, he completely disagreed with this, but when Xiang Xun used food and rewards to argue his case, and gained the support of most generals, he had no choice but to do so. After all, we cannot go against the wishes of the entire army.
In Zhao Kuangyin's eyes, Xiang Xun seemed to have become a different person since entering Chengdu, acting arbitrarily and unscrupulously. Initially, Zhao Kuangyin thought that Xiang Xun was committing suicide, but as his actions became larger and larger, the scope became wider and wider, and the methods became more and more ruthless, he even began to suspect that Xiang Xun had different intentions and wanted to win over the military.
However, with the development to this day, Zhao Kuangyin's vision is naturally not limited to the dignitaries and bureaucrats who have been punished, and those who can pile up mountains of money and goods. What he sees is a revolution, a revolution that uses harsh means to refresh the middle of Sichuan. A harmful movement. The appearance of eating may be ugly and have hidden dangers, but the army will benefit from it, the common people will get their land, and the court will get its governance, and only those with vested interests will be harmed.
At the same time, Zhao Kuangyin also believed that Xiang Xun had no different intentions. His actions and practices were to separate himself from the powerful and bureaucrats in Shu, and to abandon the landowners and merchants. Xiang Xun would never do such a large-scale action without instructions behind it, nor would he dare to do so. Moreover, Zhao Kuangyin was basically certain that this was definitely the emperor's intention. The princes in the court would never be so radical. Only the emperor had such courage and strength.
What is even more meaningful is that from beginning to end, the aftermath issued by the court was quite satisfactory. The changes in Shu are more like the Han army that suppressed Shu. They were greedy for the wealth in Shu, and acted arbitrarily and plundered, and they only stared at the nobles and wealthy people.
What Xiang Xun did was simply a stain on the criticism of the courtiers, and his position was very much like taking the blame. However, Xiang Xun seemed to be happy with it.
After thinking about this, Zhao Kuangyin fell silent and stopped speaking for the nobles in Shu. Even if he had objections, Zhao Kuangyin was not so stubborn as it was contrary to the emperor's will.
However, after such a long time, the news coming from the plain states gave Zhao Kuangyin the urge to complain again. He felt that enough was enough and it was time to stop...
"Brother Yuen Long!" Noticing Zhao Kuangyin's expression, Dang Jin spoke with sincerity on his face. He even changed his title: "I'm not talking about you! You seem to cherish your reputation too much. There are so many soldiers up and down, even Xiang Du is handsome. You have already taken some money, why are you doing this? Back then in Yangzhou, you were the commander-in-chief, so that was it. Now in Chengdu, with Commander-in-Chief supporting you, what do you have to worry about? You are so insistent, we are your subordinates Yeah, I don’t feel happy either..."
After listening to Dang Jin's words, Zhao Kuangyin raised his eyebrows, looked at Dang Jin seriously, and sighed: "Although Meng and Shu are determined, there are still Tang, Wu, Yue, and Lingnan in the south. Once this example is opened, I'm afraid the military will be hard-pressed." Clean it up and take Jiangzuo in the future. If we follow this method again, we may cause stubborn resistance!"
Dang Jin said disdainfully: "We are all weak in the south. If they dare to resist, just wipe them all out. Why do you need so many scruples?"
Hearing the soft words, Zhao Kuangyin secretly sighed in his heart, Dang Jin lived a simple and relaxed life. After pondering for a moment, he asked curiously: "How much reward did you get this time?"
"Most of them were replaced with money silk. There were 50 pieces of silk and 200 pieces of money." Dang Jin chuckled.
"It's not that little!" Zhao Kuangyin sighed slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "I heard that you made some fine wine. I'm addicted to alcohol. When you get back, you should drink with me!"
"Okay!" Dang Jin responded, feeling that Zhao Kuangyin was showing signs of enlightenment.
There was a noise in front of him, which caught Zhao Kuangyin's attention. He stepped forward and saw that in front of the gate of a tall mansion, a group of Han soldiers were excitedly moving things outside. The several large boxes they opened were all neatly filled with silk. Silk silk, a wealthy family!
On the open door of the mansion, several big red letters can be clearly seen: Shixiu surrenders to the Li family. When you see these words, you know whose home this is. Because he had written letters of surrender for the former and the former Shu, after Meng Chang surrendered, some Chengdu people wrote them on the door of Li Hao's house at night as a sign of ridicule and contempt.
Originally, Li Hao felt ashamed about this. His family wanted to change the door, but he stopped him, saying it was useless, and allowed them to stay in the middle door to show their calmness. But later, something happened in Chengdu, and so many nobles, ministers, and ministers were liquidated by the Han army. Instead, Li Hao ordered people to rewrite those six characters, as if he wanted to tell everyone that he had the power to destroy Shu when the Han army entered the city. Great job...
Maybe it really worked, or maybe because of the relationship with Xiang Xun, there was really no sergeant interference and it was stable so far. However, among the powerful people in Later Shu, not many could surpass Li Hao in terms of wealth and extravagant life.
There is such a little story that Zhao Jizha, a minister of Shu, bought a copy of the book made by Li Hao's great-grandfather Li Shen when he was granted the title of prime minister as a gift. Li Hao specially built a colorful building to worship it, and held a banquet for guests to celebrate, which almost overwhelmed Chengdu. All the famous singers in the city were summoned to a private house to have a banquet, and the expense was far beyond anyone's imagination. Moreover, he sent a full two thousand pieces of silk to Zhao Jizha as a thank you, which was equivalent to the amount that Zhao Pu did not dare to hide in bribes when he was envoy to Shu...
How could such a wealthy family not be targeted?
In front of the Li Mansion, Zhao Kuangyin saw this scene, but noticed something strange. If he was ordered normally, he would definitely capture the Li family members first, convict them, and then deal with them. At this time, the Han soldiers who were coming in and out of the Li Mansion, More like looting.
The word "blackmail" came to mind, and Zhao Kuangyin frowned slightly. This was what he was most worried about. The soldiers would act arbitrarily, and military discipline would inevitably be relaxed. What started at the top would be repeated again and again at the bottom.
Driving his horse forward, Zhao Kuangyin scolded coldly: "Which army or battalion are you from?"
The officer's eyes were shining when he noticed Zhao Kuangyin. He obviously didn't recognize him, but he estimated that his military rank must be very high. He saluted and said rather arrogantly: "We, the people of the National Army, are performing official duties." !”
"General, the Li family is indeed very rich. The money and silk in the warehouse are almost moldy!" After saying this, his eyes flashed, he stepped forward and whispered, then looked at the soldiers behind Zhao Kuangyin, and said with a generous expression He said in a tone of voice: "Even the general can't take it all, so just take this part and give the rest to the general?"
Hearing what he said, Zhao Kuangyin's face flashed with anger, and he couldn't help laughing.
"Zhao Dushuai!" A sad call interrupted him.
Looking around, he saw an old man named Li Hao looking at him with aggrieved expression in front of the door, with both fear and expectation in his eyes.
"Okay! What a Fengguo Army!" He lowered his head and stared at the officer coldly: "Is this how Wang Quanbin leads the troops?"
The officer seemed to have figured out Zhao Kuangyin's identity. Seeing that he was so rude, the smile on the officer's face faded and he responded rebelliously: "Commander Zhao, why are you insulting my general?"
"Put your things down, take your people, and go back to the military camp!" Zhao Kuangyin said calmly, with an extremely strong tone.
Hearing this, the officer became even more unhappy. He raised his head and said, "Dushuai Zhao, although your military rank is high, you still can't control our people who serve in the national army!"
"Ah!" As soon as he finished speaking, he screamed.
But Dang Jin drove his horse forward, whipped him in the face, and angrily shouted: "You are a bitch, how dare you speak to Zhao Dushuai like this!"
Dang Jin's strength was so great that when he whipped it down, his face was covered in blood and flesh. The Fengguo officer didn't care about anything else. He fell to the ground, covered his face and howled. He finally recovered, but even his eyes could not be seen. Can't open.
Turning his head and glaring at Dang Jin, Zhao Kuangyin stared at him with an unusually indifferent tone: "Put down your things and go back to camp. I don't want to say it a third time!"
Zhao Kuangyin's power was beyond the ability of a middle- and lower-level officer to resist, and he finally left in embarrassment. Afterwards, Zhao Kuangyin directly ignored Li Hao's thanks and drove his horse to find Xiang Xun.
"This lack of military discipline will lead to chaos!" Zhao Kuangyin found Xiang Xun in the temporary commander's office. Zhao Kuangyin said to him seriously with a straight face, and his tone was unusually harsh.
Xiang Xun and Zhao Pu were discussing something. Seeing his appearance, they couldn't help but ask: "Why is Yuen Long so angry?"
Zhao Kuangyin explained what had just happened with a serious expression. Upon hearing this, Xiang Xun also frowned: "This is actually happening!"
He looked at Xiang Xun and then at Zhao Pu. After a moment of hesitation, Zhao Kuangyin cupped his hands and said, "Xiang Gong, please forgive me for speaking out so bluntly. The act of coercion should be stopped. Military discipline and law must be strict. Li Hao is an old minister in Shu and has a good reputation. Gao, he also contributed to the entry of the army into the city. Now that a mere lower-level military academy dares to visit and extort money, this is by no means a good sign.
The general thought that he should gather his soldiers, strictly enforce military discipline, not disturb the people, and restore peace to the people in Shu, so he chose a day to dispatch troops! "
"Yuen Long's words make sense!" Xiang Xun nodded, but said to him calmly: "It's time to strictly restrain the officers below, but let's not mention the class discussion. First, Sichuan Shu is still waiting to calm down; secondly, the imperial court has not yet surrendered; thirdly, look at these military reports..."
Hearing his words, Zhao Kuangyin took it with a little doubt, and then his expression quickly darkened. However, he was not too surprised. Military newspaper content: Mianzhou, Jianzhou, Zizhou, Langzhou, powerful rebels.
"The states have been rebelling. Now, quelling the rebellion is the most important thing!" Xiang Xun sighed softly: "But you are right! Military discipline and law should be serious!"
Before long, Wang Quanbin arrived in a fierce manner, with an angry and fierce look on his face. He asked Zhao Kuangyin: "Zhao Kuangyin, why did you whip my subordinates?"
...
