"I have always advocated diligence and closeness to the people, but the officials below are so diligent and close to the people? Huh?"
Winter has arrived and the temperatures have dropped, but it's not yet cold. However, in the Chongzheng Hall, facing the sullen Emperor Liu, several ministers present felt chilly, and all of them lowered their heads slightly, and the atmosphere seemed tense.
The reason why Emperor Liu was angry was that he had received some rumors about some local political trends. According to the investigation, there are a large number of state and county officials who like to go down there for inspections when they have nothing to do. State officials go to counties and towns, and county officials go to villages.
This is nothing to criticize. This is an inspection and investigation, and it is also a matter of obeying the emperor's supervision, responding to diligent work and being close to the people, understanding the situation, and listening to public opinion. However, the problem arises from this.
When a superior official comes to inspect and provide guidance, the inferior official must express his/her feelings, including greetings, receptions, celebrations, and even offerings. In the early years, when the feudal system still existed, one of the major shortcomings was that officials from the prefectures and counties to which it belonged were plundering and exploiting them in order to welcome their contributions. Later, Emperor Liu explicitly banned it, and the trend was reversed.
The more serious problem is that those who frequently go to the countryside are nominally to understand the sentiments of the people and get close to the people, but many officials confidently enjoy the hospitality and dedication of each village and village.
Once or twice is enough. When this kind of behavior becomes the norm, the burden on ordinary rural people will become greater. For example, the magistrate of Anyang County would travel to the towns and villages under his control every two days to show off to the people, one place at a time, and every time he went to a place, he would only eat and drink, and at most collect some local products to contribute, and his life would be nourishing...
When he learned about this situation, Emperor Liu was very angry. In the process of governing the country, he had seen many problems, big and small. However, what often made him angry were those behaviors that misinterpreted his edicts and violated his original intentions.
Emperor Liu is really a suspicious and sensitive person. He couldn't help but think that if he just advocated "diligence and closeness to the people", the "smart" officials below could pull off such tricks. So, did the officials really follow the policies and systems of the imperial court?
He couldn't help but have a question mark in his mind about the governance situation of Dahan Daozhou and what the people's livelihood was like. Even though he had many eyes and ears, never lost his sight and hearing, and had various sources of information, he was somewhat uneasy because he had not seen it with his own eyes.
As a result, the desire to go on tour became stronger...
"Your Majesty, after all, these situations are only a minority. There are tens of thousands of officials in the world. Of course, there are good and bad alike. It is inevitable that there will be a few scum. Since such problems are discovered, just prescribe the right medicine and punish them." In the palace, Li Ye spoke. My uncle was quite tolerant of this and seemed very calm.
In fact, he had seen this kind of thing when he was a local official, especially in remote and poor areas. However, most people are not as careless as those idiots exposed.
"What the uncle said is true! Most officials still perform their duties. Your Majesty cannot blame the officials of the world for the unsightly behavior of a few people!" Dou Yi also stood up and said bluntly.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Liu couldn't help but glance at these two people. It was rare for Dou Yi to agree with Li Ye's opinion. In the court, the minister who least respected Uncle Li was Dou Yi. After all, Dou Yi had a bad temper that even Emperor Liu dared to confront.
However, Emperor Liu also agreed with the two views. If the officials of the Han Dynasty behaved like this, then there would have been a big problem in the empire.
After thinking about it, Emperor Liu looked around and asked: "Since such problems have been discovered, the court must come up with some punishment methods to reverse such bad political trends!"
The punishment is simple and can be dealt with according to the regulations, but how to reverse this unhealthy trend? It is obviously impossible to directly prohibit officials from inspecting the countryside. It would be tantamount to giving up food because of choking, and it is conceivable that it would cause the problem of slacking in administration.
In short, no matter what policies and regulations, there will always be problems. If you solve the old ones, new ones will emerge. This is a normal situation.
As the Prime Minister, Wei Renpu spoke: "Your Majesty, you can send people to investigate such officials. Those who have confirmed facts will all be removed from their posts. If the circumstances are serious, they will be imprisoned. The imperial court should issue an order to all the states to treat such people who pretend to be in power to serve the people. , those who do things that disturb the people will be severely reprimanded. Officials without official duties are not allowed to stay in the countryside, and they are strictly prohibited from accepting donations from the people in the countryside. In addition, in the future, the supervisory department should focus on investigating such situations!"
After hearing Wei Renpu's suggestion, Emperor Liu agreed after just a moment's thought, and said directly: "Just do what Wei Qing wants!"
After saying that, he sighed softly. It was difficult to come up with better measures.
"Your Majesty, Privy Councilor Li Chuyun wants to see you!" While Emperor Liu was sighing, a general came in to report.
"Is there a military report coming to Beijing?" Emperor Liu immediately cheered up and waved his hand: "Announcement!"
Soon, Li Chuyun walked into the palace, holding a military report in his hand. Li Chuyun bowed and presented it, saying: "Your Majesty, the Northwest Army reported that Yang Ye has captured Xiazhou!"
Hearing such good news, Emperor Liu was also overjoyed, and his depressed mood improved a bit. After receiving the military report from Yantuo, he asked Li Chuyun to explain the situation to the ministers present.
Three full months have passed since Yang Ye was ordered to take up his post in the northwest. Counting the time spent on the road and the necessary time for early deployment of troops and horses and logistics preparation, it has been almost two months since Yang Ye was stationed.
After such a long time, Yang Ye was stable in Yanzhou, but the officials in the DPRK seemed to have less patience, and various voices emerged.
In the eyes of many people, the army was only outnumbered and weak. The imperial court prepared tens of thousands of troops and encircled them from three directions: Yan, Yan, and Feng. How could it take so long? Even when Hexi was flat, it was never so procrastinating.
Of course, knowing the extent of Emperor Liu's favor for Yang Ye, no one was stupid enough to directly criticize Yang Ye, but many people still came forward to express their opinions on the use of troops and progress.
Although this is true on the surface, there are even more criticisms secretly. Some people think that Yang Ye is over-reputed, and some think that Yang Ye is conservative and timid. The people who made these voices included many generals in addition to civil servants who were not familiar with military strategy and had not experienced battle formations.
In the eyes of some military officials, I can do whatever I want, and I will never be like Yang Ye, who is procrastinating...
It can be seen that it is by no means an easy task to be a commander-in-chief and take charge of military affairs. In addition to solving military problems, the political pressure from behind is also huge.
Yang Ye was lucky enough to have an emperor whom he completely trusted and fully supported him, allowing him to withstand all the pressure from behind.
According to military reports from the northwest, on October 9, the Han army had entered Xiazhou City and Li Guangrui surrendered.
On the second day of October, the Han army advanced in three directions. Cui Han led five thousand troops from the west to leave Yanzhou, and Tian Renlang led three thousand from Fengzhou to the north. This was purely a partial response. The main force, led by Yang Ye himself, set out from Yanzhou and went straight out of the Great Wall.
From beginning to end, there was only one battle. At Anping Village on the border of Cheyenne, Li Guangrui sent two thousand troops to guard the area, intending to delay the battle. In the end, he failed to resist for a day, and the price he paid was 100 casualties. Zero seven people.
After that, they marched all the way singing loudly, without encountering any resistance along the way. Faced with the menacing attack of tens of thousands of Han troops, how could the army of soldiers who were already dispersed internally and externally in panic during the Han political offensive, how could they resist?
When the people's hearts are scattered, it will be difficult to lead the troops. Therefore, if you march all the way, you will be invincible, and those who surrender will follow you. There were even many officials and civilian tribes who took the initiative to welcome them and presented them with military supplies.
So, on the 8th, the Han army, under the command of Yang Ye, successfully arrived at Xiazhou City. In this process, Li Guangrui had no countermeasures. Leading the attack was an approach that had no chance of winning, that is, Xiazhou was strong and could barely provide him with some confidence.
However, it turns out that all his previous efforts to deal with it were in vain. When the Han army came to the city, someone secretly reported the situation in the city, and there were many people who were willing to take action to welcome the king's troops into the city.
In the city, more than half of the people in the city directly suggested surrender to Li Guangrui due to the overwhelming strength of the Han army and the difficult military and civil affairs. The remaining half, only a handful of people, were willing to fight to the death with Li Guangrui.
Externally, they are suppressing the country with strong troops, but internally, people are divided. Even if half of the people support him, Li Guangrui is willing to take advantage of it, but the reality is cruel.
Therefore, under internal and external pressure, Li Guangrui, who felt deeply powerless, still did not dare to risk everything and chose to surrender.
