"... In more than a month, more than 240 households in Chengdu have lost their families and scattered their wealth, including more than 30 large and small families. The rest are all dignitaries and ministers of Shu, starting from the prime minister Wu Zhaoyi and below. Those with rich families were not spared. All their property, goods and land were confiscated, and their families and clans were gathered in Chengdu to set up camps and detain them. Zhang Mei was sent to the commander-in-chief as a camp transfer envoy to take charge of this matter.
Outside Chengdu, this is the case in Zi, Mian, Han, Jian, Mei and other prefectures. All generals and schools follow this method. In the plain prefectures, no honorable ministers, bureaucrats, and powerful men are spared. More than 50,000 people were detained and detained. After Zhao Pu arrived in Chengdu, he originally wanted to move all of them out of Shu, but chaos broke out and was delayed.
The money, food, and silk that were paid were countless, and all the armies, from the generals down, reaped the benefits. After the chaos broke out, the other local generals who had surrendered were jealous of this, so they gathered in Yingcheng to resist the king..."
In the Chongzheng Hall, Li Chongju solemnly reported the situation in Shu to Liu Chengyou, who was sitting at the imperial desk, with caution. Hearing this, Liu Chengyou suddenly interrupted him: "More than 50,000 people were arrested and all their property was confiscated?"
Li Chongju nodded.
Upon hearing this, Liu Chengyou immediately cursed: "You did it so brilliantly and so impatiently, no wonder the backlash came so quickly!"
Of course, there are some things that must be done, but the problem is that without good cooperation, the appearance will be too ugly...
"When the chaos broke out, the military discipline of all the armies was relaxed, and the officers and soldiers were all restrained. In Chengdu, there were cases of robbing the people and extorting soldiers and civilians. Fortunately, Commander Xiang discovered it in time and strictly ordered to stop all the officers and soldiers who violated the law. , all the Zhengfa were killed, and the superiors and subordinates were solemn. Before starting the collection, Xiang Dushuai also issued a strict order not to give orders, not to confiscate privately, and not to harm ordinary people.
The situation in Chengdu is still under control, but the local garrison lacks restraint. Although there are orders to restrain the troops from above, they use excessive force from below, which leads to a civil uprising. "
After hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou was silent for a while, and then suddenly asked: "During the liquidation process, who among the generals was the most active!"
It could be heard that the emperor's question was ironic, and Li Chongju had nothing to hide, so he said directly: "Wang Quanbin, Wang Renfan, Li Yan, Guo Jin, Cui Yanjin, He Jianjian, Han Jixun, Liu Guangyi, Murong Chengtai, Ma Renyu... ....”
"Okay! All the senior generals are among them!" Liu Chengyou smiled faintly.
"Wang Rengan collected a huge sum of money and silk, and owned four beauties from the Shu Palace; he resold the grain and cloth he paid and made a lot of profits; Wang Quanbin indulged his subordinates, and among all the armies, the military discipline of the Fengguo Army was the worst. Because of his subordinates' extortion, he served Zhao Kuangyin Punishment, there was a conflict between the two..."
"That's enough!" Liu Chengyou raised his hand to stop him, with a feeling of anger: "Which of these people has not received my praise? As soon as they entered Shu, they were all fascinated by the rich and beautiful women? This Wang Quanbin is also, You don’t want to be famous all your life, but you are so indulgent in Chengdu?”
Seeing that the emperor was a little sullen, Li Chongju couldn't help but said: "There are also honest people among the generals. Zhao Kuangyin, Zhang Yongde, Zhang Yanqing and others were not moved. Zhang Yongde controlled Yuzhou, and Yuzhou was safe; Zhang Yanqing transferred the goods and did not take any money. ; Zhao Kuangyin restrained his subordinates, repeatedly tried to dissuade him, had many kind words, and maintained strict military discipline..."
"Zhao Kuangyin! Yangzhou is as rich as Chengdu. Back then, he was unmoved in Yangzhou. It's not surprising in Chengdu!" Hearing Li Chongju mention Zhao Kuangyin, Liu Chengyou muttered something and suddenly asked: "Back then, when I was running thousands of miles to attack Zhao Kuangyin arrived in Chengdu first, but did not enter the city or accept Meng Chang's surrender, but instead waited for Xiang Xun to lead the Northern Route Army to arrive?"
Somewhat surprised by Liu Chengyou's leap of thought, Li Chongju responded honestly: "Exactly! It is said that Zhao Kuangyin had three opportunities to take the lead in entering the city, but he gave up all of them. It was said that it was to avoid conflicts between the soldiers on the east and north routes. Competing for merit caused conflicts. Later, the grievances of the North Route Army lieutenants were really reduced!"
After coming back to his senses, he thought for a while and looked up at Li Chongju. Liu Chengyou ordered: "Please arrange it so that the military commanders, officials and spies in Shu can show my generals how to defeat the Shu army generals in every detail." , record everything for inspection and keep it confidential.”
"Yes!" Li Chongju responded immediately with a slight nervousness.
"Also, the spy network in Sichuan and Shu will be spread out. I will keep a close eye on the reactions of the old Shu generals everywhere!" Liu Chengyou added.
"Yes! I will order you to go down immediately!" Li Chongju handed over his hand.
After Li Chongju retreated, Liu Chengyou entered a state of solitude again, his expression returned to his usual seriousness, he pondered for a long time, and finally let out a deep sigh.
In fact, Liu Chengyou was not surprised at all that there would be chaos in Sichuan and Shu. He had even been mentally prepared for it. However, to his surprise, the rebellion came too quickly. The actions of the Han army in Shu were really "implementing" the emperor's will, which was a bit too thorough.
Liu Chengyou had some regrets in his heart, not that he regretted taking action against the upper class in Shu, but that the preparation time was too short, the approach was too hasty, and the matter was considered too simple. The Han army's actions were rapid and violent, but the auxiliary work was not in place at all. The most important step, the redistribution of land and other means of production, was not carried out at all, and the Han army had already brought things to the level of "anger and resentment".
This time, Liu Chengyou once again realized how difficult it is to implement policies and how important it is for smooth communication from superiors to subordinates. Without a bureaucracy with sufficient fighting capacity, problems will definitely arise if reforms are initiated.
Fortunately, the situation in Sichuan and Shu was in a period of great change. When the Han Dynasty's ruling order was being restructured, some problems broke out while others were covered up. Of course, an accident proved the correctness of Liu Chengyou's original decision and strengthened his determination to intensify rectification efforts.
However, Liu Chengyou still couldn't help but reflect that he was a little conceited. Years of victories made him proud. He easily broke through the Shu Pass, entered Chengdu, and destroyed Meng Shu, which made him feel arrogant.
Treating affairs and making decisions with a proud and strong attitude will inevitably appear willful. However, again, Liu Chengyou didn't feel that his choice was wrong, he just reflected on himself that he was not sufficiently prepared and could handle the Sichuan-Sichuan issue more calmly.
On the other hand, Liu Chengyou was somewhat vigilant and wary of military issues. In Liu Chengyou's view, the actions of the army in quelling Shu were like letting a hungry tiger out of its cage. The upper class of Shu suffered heavy losses as a result, but the Han army itself suffered a great loss of military discipline.
Even though Liu Chengyou had warned him long ago, and even though generals like Xiang Xun and Zhao Kuangyin were wary, the speed of the entire army's corruption was still astonishing when restrictions were relaxed from above. Of course, this is understandable. After all, soldiers fight for the country, travel all the way through mountains and rivers, fight bloody battles, and defeat the enemy. As a winner, it is also right to enjoy it.
In the final analysis, Liu Chengyou still overestimated his control over the army. It is conceivable what the result will be if the king controls the generals, the generals control the troops, and the emperor is arrogant.
The Han army is known for its strict military discipline, but once it is relaxed, it is still a group of arrogant and powerful generals. The limitations of the feudal army are vividly displayed in Shu. And Liu Chengyou also realized again that his years of education and brainwashing about "loyalty to the emperor and serving the country, killing the enemy and making meritorious deeds" did not prevent the army from becoming a scourge.
The world is not at peace yet, the troubled times are not over yet, and the disasters caused by warriors should still be taken seriously.
Take the tiger that was loosened from the Ping Shu Han army and try to drive the tiger back into the cage, but it's not that easy. Fortunately, one is a general, and the other is military law. With these two, I can barely put the reins on again. Of course, more importantly, the soldiers have already eaten "full of oil" and their desires have been satisfied. It will be easier for them to rush back into the circle, and things will be easier to handle...
But the problems in Shuzhong really sounded the alarm for Liu Chengyou. The army cannot relax in any way, and the established rules cannot be broken at will, otherwise, they will surely suffer.
Perhaps being in the position of emperor, and often thinking about the chaos and changes in the dynasty in modern times, Liu Chengyou felt particularly deeply. Judging from Zhao Kuangyin's previous performance, his worries may also come from this. It is a kind of "talent", which is certainly not as clear as Liu Chengyou's.
Due to the chaos in Shu, Liu Chengyou also thought that in the future to pacify Southern Tang, Wuyue, and Lingnan, he could no longer do this. He had to pay attention to methods, preparations needed to be sufficient, investigations needed to be detailed, and hidden dangers of unrest must be limited to a minimum. scope. A crude solution by the military would still have too many consequences.
However, if you think about it carefully, using a violent institution like the military to break everything and rebuild it will have an effect that cannot be compared with other methods.
Everything has its two sides, its pros and cons, it just depends on the choice. Liu Chengyou has a deeper understanding of this.
It would be best if the military should serve as the backing force for all reforms to eliminate disadvantages. After Shuzhong is completely pacified, military construction, military discipline, and military morale need to be strengthened, and clearer guidance and education are needed...
In general, the root of the chaos in Shu lies with Liu Chengyou, and he, the emperor, must bear the main responsibility. Liu Chengyou admitted this. Of course, as the emperor, he could not really take responsibility.
Someone has to take the blame for him! And he already has a candidate in mind for taking the blame. Perhaps before the Shu Rebellion, Liu Chengyou had already considered the candidate for taking the blame...
The thoughts in his mind were ups and downs. Liu Chengyou thought a lot, but he had already formed a clear thread.
After thinking for a long time, Liu Chengyou stretched his sore neck, and his face regained its composure. He ordered someone to take a piece of yellow silk, write a handwriting on it with a pen, and after sealing it, he sent someone to fly to Chengdu to deliver it. Against the training hand.
The meaning of Liu Chengyou's handwriting is very clear. The affairs in Shu and the actions of the soldiers should be ignored. They have already made a lot of money. It is time to work hard to put an end to the chaos. Before the "National Day" next year, he wants Shu to be completely pacified without leaving any future troubles. kind.
Next year will enter the eleventh year of the Qianyou Dynasty, when Liu Chengyou succeeds to the throne and rules the Han Dynasty for ten years. A grand celebration has been scheduled to summarize and celebrate the ten years of the Qianyou Dynasty.
By then, for Liu Chengyou, perhaps the best gift would be to pacify the Shu Rebellion!
