The arrival of the new year has given the people of Youyan, who have been under the cloud of war for a long time, a bit more hope in life. Although the Han and Liao sides are still fighting fiercely, at least the harsh winter has passed. Moreover, with the large amount of supplies coming from the south to the north, the people of Youyan who suffered heavy trauma due to the battle last autumn have received good assistance.
In fact, the Han court needed to support not only the Northern Expedition army, but also the people of the various states. In the past few months since Liu Chengyou came to the north, in addition to supervising the military, almost all his thoughts and energy have been put on appeasing the soldiers and people of Yan, including the people of Xinfuzhou County, most of whom are Under the rule of the Liao Kingdom for twenty years, it was impossible to win its heart without some effort.
The most important method was to invite them with benefits and bribe them with benefits. Liu Chengyou showed preferential treatment to these newly attached people. For example, land distribution, tax exemption, and Liao government were abolished. With the joint efforts of Gao Fang, Song Qi, Song Xiong and other former Youzhou officials, Youyan states have successfully connected to the Han Dynasty's ruling system.
After a period of contact and inspection of these old officials of Youyan, Liu Chengyou discovered that there were indeed many talents under King Zhao Kuangzan of Yan. Among them, the one who was most admired by Liu Chengyou was Shi Songqi, the former chief of the Palace of Prince Yan. This person was directly designated as the Quanzhi Youzhou Palace and was responsible for the civil affairs of the entire Youyan region.
From King Yan's confidant to the emperor's lucky minister, Song Qi's career seemed to be getting smoother and smoother. Song Qi also showed full enthusiasm for the importance of the emperor, and her ideological identity changed quickly. According to the emperor's political strategy of taking over Youzhou , actively cooperate.
Except for Song Qi and other officials of King Yan, Liu Chengyou basically chose to retain the officials from other states, including the Han officials appointed by the Liao State. However, these people had a "mark" on them and would be treated specially in future assessments.
However, like the local tycoon Wang Lin who was in Shicheng County before the battle, because his certificate of nomination was very important, he was directly accepted. Later, after Zunhua was recaptured by Ma Quanyi, Liu Chengyou personally appointed Wang Lin as the magistrate of Jizhou and let him garrison Zunhua City, which was also a special treatment.
Wang Lin was both satisfied and grateful that the Emperor of Han treated such a small person like him so kindly, and his loyalty skyrocketed. In fact, Wang Lin also happened to be in the right situation. By chance, the opportunity came and he seized it. Power, status, and wealth came one after another, and there was no way to stop him.
There are those who are retained, and of course there are those who are liquidated. One thing is that in the past twenty years of Khitan rule, many loyal Han officials have been cultivated, and naturally they will not show mercy to these people, and they will be investigated and prosecuted. There is no fear of not being able to find fault in pushing forward the sentence.
Liu Chengyou would never be tolerant blindly, but his style was to use both strength and softness, kindness and power. By the spring of the twelfth year of Qianyou's reign, the people's hearts and minds in various states had been restored. Although it was far from being dependent, they at least recognized the rule of the Han Dynasty.
Compared with the energy and thought invested in civil affairs, the Yan army, which was originally the most feared by Liu Chengyou, was surprisingly successfully solved. During the winter truce and reorganization, the tens of thousands of Yan troops originally subordinate to the King of Yan were completely digested. After their elites were added to the Forbidden Army, the remaining old and weak were temporarily classified as auxiliary soldiers and continued to serve as soldiers. Effective in the Han-Liao War.
This was a very direct incorporation and digestion. The original Yan Army system was cut into pieces and then completely swallowed up by the imperial court. Before and after, there was no turmoil.
The reason why Yan Jun's problem was successfully solved was also contributed to by many factors.
First, as the leader of the original Yan Army, Yan King Zhao Kuangzan was very cooperative. During the recruitment process, he even took the initiative to do work to help appease the soldiers' morale and dispel their grievances. Zhao Kuangzan's actions fully demonstrated his political vision and determination. Since he chose to submit to the imperial court, he did not make any more reservations. Trying to continue to control the army, which was taboo, was not something he could do.
And because Zhao Kuangzan is so well-behaved and sensible, Liu Chengyou's wariness towards him has dropped to an all-time low, and he even feels guilty. He said to Zhao Kuangzan again, "You will live up to me, and I will live up to you. This time, it was true to the heart, without any hypocrisy."
Secondly, it is due to the situation and power. Since the beginning of the war, the Yan army has carried out a wave of large-scale military expansion, with its strength increased to 40,000. However, in the battle with the Liao army, more than half of them suffered casualties. And later, with the development of the war and the deployment of troops, the Yan army was divided into several branches and scattered throughout the army.
The imperial court wanted to annex, but they had no choice. In addition, in the process of fighting together with the Korean army, a certain degree of friendship developed, and surrendering to the imperial court was the general trend.
Thirdly, with the elimination of Zhao Siwan and his followers, the Yan army was purged a lot internally, and the remaining generals were basically inclined to submit to the imperial court. At the same time, proper arrangements are made for generals at all levels after they are incorporated into the Forbidden Army. For the officers and soldiers below, all treatment is the same as that of the Forbidden Army.
Regarding the handling of the Yan Army issue, it was still the same, with both kindness and power. After this wave of digestion, Liu Chengyou's heartache disappeared again.
Youzhou has been officially promoted to Youzhou Prefecture. Since the Liao army retreated westward last winter and arranged the military garrison on Shanyou, Liu Chengyou drove back and has been sitting in the city since then.
And with the beginning of spring, the weather warmed up, the ice and snow melted, and the Han army, which had rested for a winter, was about to resume its martial arts and launch a new round of offensive against the Liao army. Even after the name was chosen, it was called "Spring Offensive".
However, at this time, the news from Tokyo made him unable to help but feel angry.
"Ignorant, rotten scholar, short-sighted man, how can he know the country's far-reaching strategy, and yet he wants to thwart my grand plan!" In front of the generals, Liu Chengyou rarely lost his composure and scolded him.
The reason, of course, was that Fan Zhi and other ministers jointly signed a letter, hoping that he would take care of the country, not miss the farming season, and withdraw his troops as soon as possible. They also said that people in Tokyo were unstable and hoped that he could return to the court and take charge of the government to satisfy the officials and the people.
In fact, even as far away as Youzhou, Liu Chengyou knew the situation in the DPRK very well. As early as last winter, someone had already proposed the idea of withdrawing the troops. With so many people and many talking heads, it is understandable that there would be some noise among internal and external officials and officials.
Therefore, for those people, you can have thoughts in your heart, and they can pretend they didn't hear you. But Fan Zhi is different. He is the prime minister of the government, and every move he makes affects the operation of government and the will of the people.
In the Northern Expedition of the army, when the strategy has reached a critical moment, no matter what opinions you have, you should work together and work together on this matter. What Fan Zhi should do is to appease people's hearts, unify their thoughts, and fully support frontline operations.
However, this time, he actually took the lead and united a group of officials to write a letter to Liu Chengyou. In Liu Chengyou's view, this had violated his bottom line.
Liu Chengyou also understood Fan Zhi's character, and he also believed that this gentleman's comments were motivated by public motives and not for his own selfish interests. However, he could tolerate Fan Zhi's uprightness and mistakes, but he was very angry at his "ignorance of the overall situation and disregard of the overall situation" that he showed at critical moments.
Therefore, this is the first time in many years that Liu Chengyou has been so blunt in criticizing Fan Zhi. As soon as this statement comes out, it is conceivable that it will cause a political turmoil. Generally speaking, judging from the emperor's recent attitude towards Fan Zhi, he can no longer keep up with the emperor's footsteps and is no longer suitable to be the prime minister of the Han Dynasty.
"Now that we know that the Northern Expedition has paid such a heavy price, if we don't take this opportunity to restore all the old lands and drive the Liao army to the north of the Great Wall, how much loss will he have to pay if he comes back one day? This account is not even counted. Are you clear?" Liu Chengyou was still full of anger and couldn't calm down.
Seeing the emperor's atmosphere, the generals and ministers present did not dare to say anything for a moment, and all of them were looking at his nose and his heart. It wasn't until Liu Chengyou calmed down that Chai Rongfang took the initiative to persuade him: "Your Majesty, please calm down! Fan Gong and others also consider the country and candidly advise them. They are far away in Tokyo and do not know the situation of the battle ahead. Your Majesty has been away from the court for a long time, which has caused them concern. , which is understandable. Your Majesty, please calm down your thunderous fury..."
