When Xu Da learned about Xia's army's movements, Wang Jing had already left Jiangyin and headed south to Wuxi with many civil and military personnel from the southern expedition camp and hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
This place is located on the north side of Taihu Lake. Sun Jian of the Eastern Wu Dynasty used this place as his backing when he went north to attack the Southern Qi Dynasty.
After the provinces were divided in the southeast, Wuxi Prefecture was not included in Jiangdong Province, but was included in Zhenjiang Province.
Outside the city of Wuxi, a water stronghold to accommodate the navy and a barracks of hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers were urgently built.
Daxia's plan was to send 200,000 soldiers to Changxing to block the Song army's northward passage, while the remaining 300,000 soldiers stayed in Wuxi.
To the east of Wuxi is Suzhou, and to the west you can quickly follow the river through Changzhou and enter Danyang, becoming the backing of Fu Youde's troops. If an accident occurs in Changxing, Wuxi's troops and horses can be quickly dispatched to support.
It can be seen from the map that Xia Jun is stationed in Wuxi so that he can take care of the war situation in all directions.
After arriving in Wuxi.
Gu Yong, the chief envoy of Zhenjiang Province, transferred the mansion of a wealthy businessman to serve as Wang Jing's temporary palace. There are also some wealthy families in Wuxi who also donated their legitimate daughters to serve in the palace...
Wang Jing didn't pay much attention to these.
This trip south was crucial for the Great Xia Dynasty. Wang Jing had to focus most of his energy on military affairs, and he had to read memorials from various places sent by Yangzhou every day, as well as intelligence from surrounding forces.
The gentle breeze blew, and some weeping willows were planted in the garden of the palace. These weeping willows were graceful and graceful by the lake. Some of the hanging willow branches had already fallen on the lake.
A main hall near the small lake is the study room where Wang Jing handles various affairs.
Wang Jing habitually read through the memorials of the three central provinces, and quickly reviewed them with a red pen. When he saw a memorial, he reported that when Lujiang Province was allocating fields, some officials committed fraud, forged field records, and embezzled the cultivated farmland. etc.
"Occupying people's fields..."
Nowadays, the land of the Chinese world is extremely vast. Today, the Daxia Dynasty has only cultivated a small part of the wilderness plains outside of the cities and villages, and most of the place is a barbaric land.
With fewer people and more land, Wang Jing has never worried about land annexation or other situations. He only worried that his civil and military heroes would not pay taxes...
Unexpectedly, a case would appear at this time.
Wang Jing picked up the memorial and read it in detail, and then he realized that although there were some unfair situations in the land distribution in Lujiang Province, it was generally okay.
It's just that people's minds are unpredictable, and even saints can't judge people's hearts. Individual officials have hidden selfish motives and want to embezzle cultivated farmland and take advantage of others. No one can predict this in advance.
Yan Xiang, the chief envoy of Lujiang Province, and the censor in charge of Lujiang Province reported to each other separately and have strictly dealt with the offending officials.
After processing, report to the Central Committee, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Supervisory Provincial Department according to the procedures and keep files.
“It’s so unpredictable!”
Wang Jing sighed and casually marked it with a red pen, indicating that he had read it and had no other opinions.
"Not long after the Lujiang Province was annexed, the land was vast, but some people dared to cheat and appropriate farmland. The two major provinces of Jiangdong and Zhenjiang were both occupied by wealthy families! As the saying goes, a hundred-footed insect is dead but not stiff. I am not like Zhu Yuanzhang. Such ruthless cleaning..."
“I don’t know what is going on with the land distribution in these two major provinces. Will the local wealthy families and low-level officials collude with each other?”
Wang Jing was attracted by the memorial just now, and suspicion suddenly arose in his heart.
What an emperor hates the most is when his ministers deceive his superiors and deceive his subordinates. He gets a lot of benefits from harming the people, but throws all the consequences of a bad reputation on the emperor.
The same goes for Wang Jing.
Thinking of this, Wang Jing stood up and walked out of the study.
"His Majesty!"
The guards outside half-knelt and saluted.
Wang Jing waved his hand casually and strode to the front yard.
There are several courtyards around this mansion, which temporarily serve as a place for the Secretariat Supervisor, the Counselor's Department, and the civil and military affairs at all levels of the Southern Expedition Governor's Mansion to handle affairs.
They all just came to Wuxi and came in a hurry.
Civil servants at all levels from the Southern Expedition camp and officials from various divisions accompanying them, a large number of them, were arranged around the palace.
"Go and ask Gao Xi, Zhang Juzheng, Gu Yong, and Xie Hui to come!"
Wang Jing gave the order casually, and the guards following him immediately took the order.
After a while, four people arrived one after another. Gao Xi and Zhang Juzheng were both busy and had to deal with various military reports every day. However, when the emperor summoned them, they would come no matter how busy they were.
"Come on, follow me out of the city to see the sentiments of the people in the two major provinces of Jiangnan!"
Wang Jing said something, and then asked people to bring the war horses, along with four and dozens of elite guards. Yuwen Chengdu, who acted as the commander of the personal guards, quietly followed after hearing the movement.
"yes!"
Gao Xi and Zhang Juzheng looked at each other. Among them, Zhang Juzheng's eyes flashed slightly, and he understood the reason why the emperor suddenly summoned them and wanted to go out of the city to observe the public sentiment.
It must have been the memorial sent from Yangzhou that touched the emperor's mind.
When he left the city this time, Wang Jing only brought a group of elite soldiers to protect him, and did not mobilize any troops. With his strength, he is not afraid even if someone assassinates him. And Yuwen Chengdu, the powerful guard, is even more foolproof...
Wuxi experienced war, but the damage to Dingkou in the city was not too great. After the atmosphere of war dissipated, Wuxi, near Taihu Lake, quickly regained its vitality.
After leaving the city.
Wang Jing saw a large number of cultivated fields outside the city, including paddy fields and rice fields, and a small number of other crops were planted... Many farmers were busy in the fields.
No matter what time of year, farmers are always busy, they have to water the land from time to time and prevent insect damage.
In order not to starve to death, we must persevere no matter how hard it is.
Wang Jingneng could see that the people outside the city looked pretty good.
However, after running for dozens of miles, Wang Jing saw some relatively large houses and farms appearing.
There are also many farmers working in the farmland near the farm. There are no obvious furrows in these farmlands, and only boundary markers appear over hundreds or even thousands of acres...
Wang Jing did not ask the people. After seeing the thousands of acres of farmland, his mind changed and he understood the situation.
"Yuan Tan, do you know what's going on?"
Wang Jing pointed with his riding crop and asked calmly.
As a ninth-level civil servant, Gu Yong's life level has long been otherworldly, but with Wang Jingdan's indifferent words, a small amount of sweat appeared on his forehead and back.
"Your Majesty, in the two major provinces of Jiangdong and Zhenjiang, the aristocratic families have been entangled for a long time and have intertwined relationships. In addition, in the countryside, all the same clans form one village. When the fields are divided, the fields are all connected together, so it often looks like they are thousands of miles apart. Yumu!"
Gu Yong explained.
Wang Jing was a little silent, and after a moment he said: "People of the same clan live together in the same village, and when dividing the fields, they all put the fields together... If the clan becomes stronger and there is dirt in it, wouldn't it be easier to annex the land of the same clan?"
"When I set up towns under the county, my original intention was to bring the imperial power to the countryside and suppress the local wealthy families! If we allow the local clans to grow, how can the imperial power go to the countryside?"
Gu Yong did not dare to refute, but showed a wry smile on his face.
In the two major provinces of Jiangdong and Zhenjiang, aristocratic families and local wealthy families were severely hit after the rule of the Xia Dynasty. They had to pay taxes whether on farmland or business.
This alone made many aristocratic families extremely resentful towards Daxia and Wang Jing. If Daxia's land equalization method was strictly followed, the aristocratic families would be split up and the clans would be broken up.
The wealthy families in the two major provinces of Jiangdong and Zhenjiang will definitely continue to rebel. Now Daxia is in the southern expedition. It would be bad if these wealthy families cause trouble and affect the overall situation of the southern expedition.
Moreover, Gu Yong was transferred to the chief envoy of Zhenjiang Province for only a few months. After his transfer, Daxia began the southern expedition.
Even if he knew something was wrong, he wouldn't be able to change it.
Wang Jing glanced at him and knew what he was thinking. He simply stopped looking at him and turned his attention to Zhang Juzheng beside him.
"Taiyue, what do you think? How should we deal with this situation?"
Zhang Juzheng said in a deep voice: "My opinion is naturally in accordance with my laws in Daxia. Just do what you want. If the wealthy families are not convinced, then send troops to suppress it, kill a group of them, and the rest will naturally obey!"
"No! Our army is currently fighting against the Ming and Song armies. If there is turmoil in the rear, how can the front line be stable?"
Gu Yong's expression changed and he quickly objected.
"Mr. Yuan Tan's words are wrong. Our army is strong. In addition to the three major camps and the 200,000 soldiers in Changxing, as long as the remaining 300,000 soldiers outside Wuxi are still there, there is no need to worry about turmoil in various places!"
"Furthermore, if the soldiers on the front line knew that those wealthy families who had not made any contribution to Daxia but were able to enjoy wealth would be purged, their morale would only increase! How could they be shaken?"
Zhang Juzheng's voice was as hard as stone.
Gao Xi and Xie Hui glanced at them, but neither expressed an opinion. Both of them were talented prime ministers in history, and Gao Xi was top-notch in both civil and military affairs.
It's just that now they are all important ministers in charge of military affairs in the Privy Council.
If you are not in your position and do not plan your political affairs, it is naturally inconvenient to talk too much about civil affairs.
"Okay! Taiyue's words really resonate with my heart!"
Wang Jing showed admiration on his face.
"In that case, I will give you an edict, temporarily appointing you as the censor of Jiangnan Province, with five hundred white-ear elite soldiers as guards, so that you can rectify the land equalization of the two provinces, and then give you the royal flag. We can temporarily summon thousands of households in the health offices of various prefectures... we must clean up the two major provinces!"
"If there is a rebellion by a wealthy family that cannot be suppressed... Xie Hui, Yuwen Chengdu! Go and mobilize 50,000 soldiers and station them in Suzhou, Changzhou, Danyang, Changshu, Songjiang and other places. Once there is a rebellion by a wealthy family, send troops to suppress it immediately!"
Wang Jing was very decisive and issued orders quickly.
Gu Yong on the side hesitated to speak, but finally shut up. Gao Xi had no objection. Three hundred thousand soldiers were stationed in Wuxi and would not go to the battlefield for the time being.
It would be good to take this opportunity to sort out the remaining problems in the two major provinces, as it will have no impact on the overall situation of the Southern Expedition.
"My lord... I will take your orders!"
Xie Hui, Zhang Juzheng and Yuwen Chengdu received the edicts respectively.
After a brief look outside the city, Wang Jing lost his mood and took his people back to the city, while Xie Hui, Zhang Juzheng and Yuwen Chengdu went to mobilize their manpower respectively.
Zhang Juzheng went to receive the king's flag and five hundred white-ear elite soldiers to protect him, while Yuwen Chengdu took the imperial edict to the military camp to mobilize troops...
Soon, the military camp outside the city began to become noisy.
In order to clean up the hidden dangers in the two major provinces, Yuwen Chengdu mobilized soldiers belonging to Jiangbei.
The mobilization of soldiers has attracted the attention of many people in Wuxi.
Among them were spies from the Song Army and the Ming Army... They tried their best to find out Xia Army's confidential military information, but they were unable to do so. They could only judge Xia Army's movements through large-scale military mobilization.
After returning to the palace.
Wang Jing no longer paid attention to the situation outside. With Zhang Juzheng, Xie Hui and Yuwen Chengdu joining forces, if they could not solve the remaining wealthy families in the two provinces, then he would have doubts about the abilities of the three of them.
"Zhaoxuan, Yuantan, Taiyue, and Anshi Gong, who do you think can replace them and serve as the cabinet's bachelor?"
Wang Jing and Gao Xi entered the study, and Gu Yong went to the courtyard around the palace to handle the government affairs of Zhenjiang Province. They were the only two in the study.
So Wang Jing asked casually.
Gao Xi said without hesitation: "I am a privy envoy and not suitable to interfere in government affairs, let alone a bachelor in charge of internal affairs! Your Majesty has his own plans in mind, so why bother asking others!"
Wang Jing waved his hand and said: "There are no outsiders at the moment. Let's just chat casually. It can come out of your mouth and into my ears. It will not be spread to other people. Zhaoxuan doesn't have to deliberately avoid suspicion!"
Gao Xi couldn't resist, so he could only ponder slightly and said: "An Shigong, Gu Yuantan, Li Shanchang, Hu Weiyong, Chu Yuan, Fan Yun, Cen Wenwen, Zhang Dun... are all sages of the past dynasties, who have held responsible positions. The ability of a great bachelor!"
"However! Gu Yong and Chu Yuan are surrendered ministers. They are dissatisfied with becoming academics. They are also closely related to the powerful families of Soochow and Southern Qi, and they cannot become central ministers!"
"Fan Yun's reputation is too low, Cen Wenwen and Zhang Dun's contribution is too small, and Hu Weiyong's reputation is too bad... If he is to be added to the cabinet, no need to say more, An Shigong, Li Shanchang can also do it!"
"Of course, Zhang Juzheng is also very suitable!"
He briefly commented on the many civil servants in Daxia. Basically, they were all prime ministers of a certain dynasty. But Gao Xi obviously respected Xie An very much.
I think it is normal for him to join the Ministry of Civil Affairs as a bachelor.
Wang Jing nodded slightly.
Wang Jing didn't see how strong Xie An was, unlike people like Gao Xi and Xie Hui who highly respected Xie An.
In his heart, Zhang Juzheng is much stronger than Xie An.
Given that the Great Xia Dynasty had somewhat similar political systems to the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Juzheng was the most suitable cabinet scholar for the Great Xia.
but.
After seeing that Gao Xi admired Xie An so much and believed that he should be included in the cabinet, Wang Jing realized Xie An's status in the hearts of many scholars and scholars after the Wei and Jin Dynasties, especially those with aristocratic backgrounds.
"It seems that as a replacement for the bachelor's degree in the cabinet, we need to consider Xie An first, and then arrange for Zhang Juzheng!"
Wang Jing thought to himself.
At present, the Ministry of Government Affairs has three bachelors, Shen Yi, Wang Guangyang, and Su Wei, and there are still two positions missing, which can be used to accommodate Xie An and Zhang Juzheng.
As for Li Shanchang... with Zhang Juzheng, he could only temporarily accept the humiliation and serve as the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Only if Shen Yi, Wang Guangyang, and Su Wei are transferred in the future will he have a chance.
