In the 20th year of Kaibao's reign (982), in April of summer, Hedong Road, Xizhou.
Xizhou is under the rule of Hedong. It is a large state in the east, west and south of Hedong. Geographically, it belongs to the hinterland of the Han Empire. However, in the eyes of many people, this place is a remote place, although this is indeed the case.
Thirty years ago, Emperor Liu personally conquered the Southern Tang Dynasty. After conquering Huainan and returning triumphantly, he took great strides to solve the internal vassal and town issues. The emperor's uncle Liu Chong, who controlled Hedong, naturally became a typical example.
With the combined efforts of various means, Hedong also completely and completely became a state under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, which was one of the signs that the Han Dynasty promoted centralization of power. Later, Emperor Liu appointed Fan Zhi as the governor of Hedong and carried out a large-scale institutional reform in the entire Hedong area. One of the main measures was to reduce the number of prefectures and merge them into prefectures.
Xizhou was also merged into Daning Mansion at that time, but this affiliation only lasted for about ten years. After the north and south were unified and the world was unified, Emperor Liu once again organized the Political Affairs Hall to carry out a comprehensive merger of prefectures and counties across the country.
After all, Daning Mansion was the product of special circumstances, and the local politics, economy, geography, and people's sentiments really did not qualify it for the establishment of a government. Take a look at where the Han Dynasty has set up its mansions now. Take Hedong as an example, there is only one Taiyuan mansion.
In terms of administrative level, the prefectures and prefectures belong to the same level, but in the minds of all Han officials, the prefectures are higher than the prefectures. This has now been clarified and written into the "Han Huidian".
Therefore, after Daning Prefecture was abolished, Xizhou was restored and became an independent administrative region again. Xizhou is located at the southern end of the Luliang Mountains, on the Shanxi Plateau, with overlapping mountain ridges and criss-crossing ravines. Although it is close to the Yellow River, it lacks resources and has a backward economy. It is an out-and-out poor place, and it is relatively closed. There are few Foreign merchants arrive.
Similarly, the public security in this place is relatively poor. The poor mountains and rivers are full of unruly people. In order to compete for survival resources, the battles between villages have never stopped. Every year, there are armed fights and casualties, and it is difficult for the government to cure it.
Up to now, the Xizhou government has actually been in a state of laissez-faire. The place is already poor enough, and it still needs to use severe punishments and laws to restrain the people. Local officials feel that it is unnecessary.
Etiquette is evident in warehouses. For local officials in Xizhou, it is hard for the people to have enough to eat, let alone social harmony and good-neighborliness. As long as it does not make too much noise and makes any big noise, it is acceptable. of.
The current prosperity of the Han Dynasty will always only be at an overall level. In individual areas, such as remote and remote areas like Xizhou, it is already difficult for ordinary people in Guizhou to live happily.
And despite being poor, at least it still maintains a relatively stable environment. There is no war, and every household can still protect the mountains, water, fields and soil.
In recent years, what the villages of Xizhou are probably most looking forward to is the notice of the imperial court recruiting soldiers. For today's big men, the threshold for becoming a soldier is also constantly rising. After all, the number of soldiers is being reduced year by year. The fewer the quantity, the higher the quality requirements.
As for the recruitment of soldiers by the Han Dynasty, in addition to those from rich and good families, now they also prefer farmers and mountain people in these poor areas. After all, they are easier to feed, more obedient, and easier to brainwash. As for the stubborn people, any problem can be eliminated by walking around in the army. The Han army has not changed much in more than thirty years, which is military discipline and law. And every year, tens of thousands of officers and soldiers are sentenced for violating military law. Hundreds.
What happened two years ago was that Sun Yongzhen, the grandson of Pingyuan Gongsun Li, had a drunken conflict with Ma Jiyuan, the nephew of Ma Renyu, the Marquis of Leling. Both of them were officers of the Forbidden Army. After returning to the camp, they led their subordinate officers and soldiers to fight. .
There were not many people involved, only about fifty people in total, but the matter was serious. According to the military law of the Han Dynasty, mobilizing troops and horses without authorization without military orders would be punished as treason, not to mention that it was still in the capital, and it was still for personal grudges.
As a result, all the officers and soldiers involved in the fight were killed, including the officers and guards on duty that day, and more than 200 people were directly implicated and punished. As for Ma Renyu, he was the deputy commander of the bodyguard, so he resigned and was demoted to Yunnan by Emperor Liu.
As for his grandson, Pingyuan Gongsun Li, who was already very old, did not even dare to say a word of mercy. He could only watch his grandson's body being separated with tears.
For the children of mountain farmers in Xizhou, the army is a rare life-changing opportunity. If nothing else, at least they can have enough food and clothing. Even if they are just training as a regiment, it is better than digging for food in the valleys.
As for military discipline and even going out to fight, it is really insignificant compared with hunger and cold. The number of soldiers recruited by Xizhou every year has also become a bargaining chip for the Xizhou government to coordinate rural conflicts. Anyone who disobeys discipline will be deprived of this treatment. Although the Ministry of War is mainly responsible for conscription, local governments still have a certain say.
However, the poor will be poor and the poor will be poor. As a whole, Xizhou is relatively stable. Although it is unavoidable to cause trouble for the people, this place is not eye-catching enough. Even the Hedong Road directly under it rarely pays attention to this place. Not to mention the height of the temple.
Such remote and remote areas have been like this since ancient times. We are accustomed to being poor. If our ancestors could survive, the same can be said for today's Guizhou.
From the perspective of the Xizhou government, the poor people living in poverty are on the one hand, but it does not hinder their enjoyment, nor does it affect their authority. The state government in Xizhou is very grand.
There are advantages to being poor. There is less pressure from competition. At the same time, it is easier to ask for assistance, policies, and favors from Hedong Road and the court. The biggest advantage naturally falls on these bureaucrats.
Because of this, places like Xizhou are most likely to have local emperors, corruption, and violations of law and discipline. The imperial government has been engaged in civil affairs for decades, and has made many achievements. Generally speaking, the places where major cases and malpractice cases occurred are of course those wealthy places, but in terms of depth, profundity, darkness, and cruelty, they must be The poorer these remote areas are, the more serious the situation becomes.
The former magistrate of Xizhou, Wang Yin, was found out by Lu Duoxun. During his six-year tenure, he was listed with 53 major and minor crimes. Basically, he committed all the crimes that a "local emperor" could commit, and they were not listed. Yes, it's just enough to sentence him to death, so he can save time.
The newly appointed magistrate of Xizhou is named Zhang Wei. He once served in the Palace of the Prince of Wei and was one of the apprentices of King Liu Min of Wei. Xizhou is his second actual post.
However, even if such a knowledgeable scholar-bureaucrat with the people's heart took office in Xizhou, the local situation still did not fundamentally change.
The people were still suffering from poverty, and famine was still unavoidable when natural disasters came. However, relying on the reputation of the governor, they could get a little more preferential policies.
At the same time, because of the weakness of the literati, who likes education, promotes moralization, and is unwilling to punish the people harshly, the security situation in Xizhou becomes more and more chaotic.
Within the prefecture and county, harmony can still be maintained, which is the moral education expected by Zhang Zhizhou. However, in the vast countryside and mountains outside the city, the political power has long been weakened, and the government seems to have gradually given up on those things that once existed as time goes by. Leveraged rural governance.
Why bother? It's troublesome and hard work. Isn't it nice to be your own official in a state or county?
