In the winter, the city of Tokyo has become much colder, and the city has become a bit more solemn. The joy of Pingshu has gradually passed, and the man has opened a new chapter. A large amount of gold, silver, jade, armor, and goods were continuously imported into the city of Tokyo, enriching the Liu family and the court, and letting everyone know how rich Sichuan and Shu were.
No matter what, for the emperor and the court, Pingshu benefited hugely and made a lot of money. Although, what Liu Chengyou cares more about is the more than two hundred counties in Sichuan and Sichuan, the millions of people, and the fertile land of the Land of Abundance.
However, the urgent military situation cast a shadow over this great victory.
In the Chongzheng Palace, several important ministers were convened for a highly confidential imperial meeting to listen to the Privy Council's report on the "Rebellion in Central Shu". Chai Rong's tone was serious and he narrated calmly:
"According to a report from Shuzhong, the rebellion first broke out in Long'an County, Mianzhou. Six local tycoons gathered in the village to be brave, incited the people to rebel, and attacked the city of Brazil. They were defeated by Huaiweidu General He Xianjian, and the rebels retreated to Long'an County. An and Shiquan areas.
There were more than a thousand Shu soldiers in Jianzhou, who took the lead in plotting a rebellion and conquering Jianmen. Han Jixun, who guarded Jiange, led his army to recover it. The same was true in Zizhou, Langzhou and other places. The local tyrants and powerful people, mainly locals, rebelled under the banner of reviving Meng Shu and expelling the king's division.
By mid-October, in Sichuan and Shu, the number of people raising flags to respond and taking advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos had reached twelve states, with the six states of Mian, Han, Zi, Jian, Mei, and Lang being the most serious. The number of rebels numbered one hundred thousand..."
Glancing at Liu Chengyou, Chai Rong continued: "This rebellion is mainly based on the prefectures and counties in the plains. The eastern Sichuan area is still stable, but the southern Sichuan area is unstable. If the situation is not settled quickly, it is inevitable that there will be people who commit crimes and take advantage of the situation. Chaos goes against the crowd!"
After listening to his statement, Liu Chengyou glanced around the ministers and asked calmly: "Everyone has an understanding of the situation. You can express your opinions on how to deal with the chaos in Shu!"
In fact, just by looking at the outbreak and the scope of the rebellion, we can know the cause of the rebellion, and the ministers who participated in the previous Guangzheng Palace meeting also knew it well.
Li Gu thought for a while and asked Chai Rong: "What strategies do the Sichuan and Shu garrison have to counter the rebellion?"
Chai Rong said: "This rebellion is mainly led by the nobles and powerful people in Shu, coercing the ignorant Sichuan people, and is supplemented by some dedicated soldiers to take advantage of the chaos. Report to Xun, he will stabilize eastern Sichuan Cooperate with northern Sichuan and pacify southern Sichuan to ensure transportation in and out. At the same time, screen and control the surrendered soldiers, reward them with money, grain, and land to appease their hearts and take them for their own use. Otherwise, if this chaos occurs, the troops stationed in Shu will be sent to Shu. It is difficult to take care of the whole territory.
Fortunately, the chaos suddenly became rampant, but the rebels fought independently and did not become one. It was difficult to cooperate with each other and coordinate to cause chaos. Xiang Xun’s plan is to temporarily secure the cities and use them as strongholds. He will first clear up the chaos around Chengdu, and then mobilize heavy troops to gradually eliminate the remaining rebels..."
After Chai Rong finished speaking, Wei Renpu spoke: "The rebellion in Shu can be stabilized by surrendering soldiers and not being deceived into rebellion. The situation will be under control. Xiang Xun made the right choice. As for the rebels from various states, they are a rabble. , lacking soldiers and armor, and short of training, they are no match for a large army. If they are trapped in Shu, with Chengdu as the center, and all steps are clear, it will not be a big problem!"
Liu Chengyou nodded. After the scandal came out, he had always seemed calm, neither angry nor impatient. Turning his gaze to Fan Zhi, he said to Fan Xianggong, who had already opened his mouth to speak: "What do you think, Fan Qing?"
Fan Zhi's expression was a little complicated, and he felt tired. He had already advised Liu Chengyou not to make too much progress, otherwise chaos would inevitably occur, but he didn't listen. Now that Guo was in chaos, Fan Zhi didn't feel the slightest bit happy in his heart.
Facing the emperor's gaze, Fan Zhi said solemnly: "Your Majesty, since chaos has arisen, the first priority should be to quell the chaos. The imperial court is far away in Tokyo, and it is difficult to transmit news. I believe that Xiang Xun should be entrusted with the full authority to quell the chaos. , in order to quickly quell the rebel army and restore stability in Sichuan and Shu!"
From Fan Zhi's words, we can know that this husband is still very enlightened...
After a brief pause, Fan Zhi continued: "However, thinking about the source of this chaos, I believe that the existing policy towards Shu should be changed. We should strictly enforce military discipline, restrain soldiers, ease conflicts, and use both suppression and appeasement... "
"I know Fan Qing's concerns!" As soon as Fan Zhi started to speak, Liu Chengyou understood what he meant. He interrupted him rudely and said, "I have only one attitude. I will never tolerate compromise towards the rebellious people. Eradication. Now that the matter has come to this, if there is any weakness in the imperial court, will it not make the rebels more arrogant? How will the imperial court govern Shu in the future?
Hundreds of thousands of troops, stationed at dangerous passes and repairing their armor, were all defeated and captured by our army in one fell swoop. The mere chaos of the people could hardly be called an army. What should the imperial court have to worry about? "
After saying this, Liu Chengyou issued an instruction with a stern attitude: "The imperial court will surrender to Chengdu and entrust Xiang Xun with full power to quell the rebellion. In addition, the officials and people of Sichuan and Shu will be widely informed that those who have caused rebellion will be severely punished and their property will be confiscated." , the land was confiscated and divided among the Shu people.
In addition, this time only the bandit leader will be executed, and the rest will be ignored. Those who coerce the rebels to repent, and take the head of the bandit leader to sue the government will be exempted from crime. At the time of fighting the rebellion, all officials in Shu, old and new, should fulfill their duties to ensure peace and order. When the bandits are put down, the court will reward them for their merits! "
This is equivalent to Liu Chengyou formally introducing a policy of attacking the powerful and landlords in Sichuan. He put it directly on the table and carried out it openly and openly.
Hearing Liu Chengyou's words, Fan Zhi couldn't help but feel anxious. At this time, the emperor still refused to give in at all, and his methods were still so harsh. He opened his mouth and said: "Your Majesty, if this is the case, I am afraid that the chaos in Shu will continue to expand!"
Raising his hand to stop Fan Zhi, Liu Chengyou's expression was a little cold: "I will never condone the issue of fostering traitors. The matters of peace for the people must be left to the officials of Shu. The central government must strictly urge the policy of dividing land and property. , convey it in place to bring peace to the people of Shu. This matter will be handled by Prime Minister Zhao Pu. Anyone who neglects or misinterprets the court's intentions will be severely punished! I believe that the people of Shu will support the court if they support their land and increase their production!"
"And!" Liu Chengyou turned his head to look at Guo Rong and ordered: "The generals of the Shu army are ordered to strictly enforce military discipline and don't forget the military law of the Han Dynasty! You may want to use harsher words and ignore the past, but if anyone tests the law again, It will never be punished!"
"yes!"
After exiting the Chongzheng Hall, Fan Zhi looked solemn and sighed heavily: "Now that we have reached this point, why is Your Majesty still insisting on going his own way? With such tough and drastic measures, those who are in trouble in Shu will definitely resist to the end and persecute. It will take a long time!”
After hearing what he said, the prime minister Xue Juzheng, who had never expressed an opinion on this matter before, said in a deep voice: "I cannot agree with what Mr. Fan said!"
Fan Zhi looked at him slightly and asked, "What's Ziping's opinion?"
Xue Juzheng said: "I think that since the rebellion in Shu has started, it should be severely suppressed. If the court changes its attitude because of the chaos, it will only increase the arrogance of rebellion. That is a mistake again and again. Even if the chaos is temporarily eliminated, Stability is temporarily restored, but how will the court govern it in the future? If there are new policies that are contrary to its wishes, will they rebel against each other again?
Furthermore, does the chaos in Shu require the court to make compromises? With your Majesty's strength, how could you allow this! "
With that said, Xue Juzheng looked around, lowered his voice and said, "To put it bluntly, if His Majesty chooses to compromise because of this, does that prove that His Majesty's previous resolution was wrong?"
Listening to Xue Juzheng's words, Fan Zhi felt a sudden awakening. His face changed for a while, and he frowned and said: "I'm just worried that after this chaos, the sacred land will be destroyed and the vitality of Shu will be seriously damaged." ah!"
"However, once the chaos is calmed down, the foundation for long-term peace and stability can be laid!" Xue Juzheng's eyes were burning.
In fact, what Fan Zhi has always been worried about is causing chaos. During the Han army's pacification of Shu, although there were several battles, they were short-lived and did not cause much harm to Shu, especially production damage.
The people of Shu suffered only because of Meng Shu's policies. According to Fan Zhi's idea, he could have easily accepted the regime in Shu, and then based on its shortcomings, improved the bad government and eased the conflicts, so that Sichuan and Shu could be stabilized in a short period of time. By then, in less than half a year, Sichuan and Sichuan will become another major financial and taxation center for the imperial court.
However, after Liu Chengyou's troubles, civil riots broke out, which caused great harm to the people. It is difficult to estimate how many people will die, and how much property will be lost is even more difficult to calculate. Fan Zhi was confident in quelling the rebellion, but if the Kingdom of Abundance was destroyed, the price paid would be too heavy.
Afterwards, the imperial court will invest great energy in the restoration of Shu.
To put it simply, there was originally an easy and smooth road to take, but Liu Chengyou insisted on choosing a road full of risks and accidents, which made Fan Zhi feel a little uncomfortable.
However, so far, Fan Zhi is not unable to understand the emperor's intentions and can see the benefits. Because of this, my mood is particularly complicated...
"Our Mr. Fan, it is still difficult to change his thinking!" Liu Chengyou couldn't help but sigh in Chongzheng Hall.
During this period of time, Liu Chengyou had been avoiding Fan Zhi because of his policy towards Shu. There is nothing wrong with the veteran's desire for stability, and Fan Zhi upholds a public spirit and does not involve personal feelings, so Liu Chengyou should not be too harsh on him.
However, sometimes, I still can't help but feel a little depressed, feeling that my "good intentions" are not understood.
"Fan Xianggong has been loyal to his country since he was old!" said his uncle Guo Tong, who was standing in front of the emperor.
After Zhao Pu went to Chengdu, Guo Tong, who returned to the court, took over as the bachelor of Chongzheng Palace and was responsible for the official affairs of the palace. Last year, I arranged a relocation of Shu prisoners in Guanzhong, which was completed well. After returning to the court, my status with Liu Chengyou was obviously improved a lot.
After hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou glanced at Guo Tong in slight surprise. Chongzheng Hall and Zhengshi Hall were already showing some signs of antagonism. Guo Tong could speak for Fan Zhi. Liu Chengyou couldn't help but feel a little admiration for Fan Zhi's surprise.
"Send someone to summon Li Chongju into the palace!" After calming down, Liu Chengyou's expression became serious and he ordered.
