Volume 4 Chapter 2 Self-disturbance (Part 2)
From a macro perspective, the massive and sensitive reforms currently underway in Kansai, namely the reorganization of the Western Army and the measurement and distribution of land, are unlikely to encounter any major obstacles or difficulties.
Because as many knowledgeable people thought, at this moment, there were too many favorable conditions... the internal destruction of Guanzhong caused by the Jin army's several raids, the re-establishment of the prestige of the Zhao Song Dynasty and the emperor after the great victory, and the absolute control of military force and absolute determination to reform by the emperor sitting in Chang'an at this time, almost ensured from every angle that this reform, which was unimaginable under normal circumstances and deeply rooted in the bones, would proceed smoothly.
This is a special bonus in extraordinary times and extraordinary circumstances, just like it always seems easy to establish a system at the beginning of a country, and it is also a bit like special measures taken to save lives in years of great disasters are always easy.
However, as the saying goes, those who do not plan for the future will have immediate worries.
After Yaoshan, Zhao Jiu finally solved the most fundamental dilemma of life and death, allowed the country to return to normal, and began to think about doing things. However, from his "high-level" perspective as a time traveler, the road ahead is destined to be long and difficult, and he must be mentally prepared to face many things.
Just because there are no problems in Guanzhong doesn’t mean there will be no problems in other areas; just because there are no problems now doesn’t mean there will be no problems in the future. We cannot take the temporary bonus of war as the norm, but we must take the opportunity to establish a political mechanism to deal with normal difficulties.
As for politics, once this word is mentioned, the first and inevitable thing is the personnel issue... Zhao Jiu did not dare to expect that all the people in the world would be Yao and Shun, so he could only demand that the government orders be implemented smoothly. In order to achieve this, the selection of the prime minister is of paramount importance.
Lu Haowen was promoted to prime minister, Wang Boyan died for his country, and Xu Jingheng had agreed to resign. This meant that according to the political tradition of the previous few years, two prime minister positions, one chief and one deputy, were vacant in the province, and the chief position in the Privy Council was also vacant.
Three of the four seats are vacant, which seems to be a lot, but considering that there are a bunch of envoys and ministers who are already half-step prime ministers, such as Guanxi Yuwen Xu Zhong, Southeast Lu Yihao, Jingxiang Liu Ji, plus the former prime ministers Li Gang and Li Boji who have been away from the court for two years but still have deep power in the court, and the current actual leader of Li Boji's faction in the court, Chief Censor Li Guang, as well as Zhao Jiu's trusted team of Zhang Jun from Bashu, Hu Yin from northern Shaanxi, and Liu Ziyu, the chief secretary of the Privy Council... it seems that everyone has hope, and there are definitely too many people and too little porridge.
Not only that, considering that Xu Jingheng had returned to Henan to deal with the military settlement and land granting issues, and his intention to resign was not yet known to the public, everyone had only two positions in their eyes, and the competition became even more intense.
However, it seems that it is precisely thanks to this that Zhao Jiu can clearly feel the activeness of many relevant personnel, which in turn drives the entire bureaucratic system to become active.
Although Zhang Jun was the transport commissioner of the five routes of Bashu, he personally went to the governor of Qinfeng Road to handle related land measurement matters.
The suppression of the rebellion by Zhong Xiang in Dongting Lake and the Wuling area was scheduled for the autumn, but Liu Ji had already impatiently proposed relevant routes and logistical arrangements.
Lu Yihao was even more direct. These days, his memorials to Tokyo and Chang'an were basically sent non-stop. This Southeast Envoy proposed successively to improve the army, to help students, and to simplify the government... For example, taking advantage of the great victory, some of the troops and generals with poor combat effectiveness in the imperial camp were expelled; for example, the three-school system (Imperial College, State College, and County College System) should be rectified on a large scale, and the relevant entrance examinations and student treatment, as well as the final palace examination, should be fully institutionalized; and all official appointments since the Jingkang period should be formally followed up and inspected, and officials should be dispatched to remote areas...
He even took the initiative to propose that the various complicated envoy systems in special periods should be ended, and the governors, pacification commissioners, and transport commissioners who were in charge of multiple routes should be abolished and the old system should be restored.
His aggressiveness could be felt even from a distance of thousands of miles, as if he had already regarded himself as the central leader. And because all these things were related to the foundation of the country, they shocked the government and the public.
For a time, messengers went back and forth constantly from Yangzhou to Tokyo, and from Tokyo to Chang'an, and both civil and military officials were worried.
However, Zhao Jiu did not keep these people waiting for long. He approved almost every memorial from Lu Yihao that was sent to Chang'an without hesitation, and almost every time he approved it, he made the most clear and unambiguous statement - Emperor Zhao unconditionally supported these suggestions and required full cooperation from Tokyo.
Even after the institutionalization of the Three-She System and the large-scale follow-up inspections of officials were sent to the capital, and after the Western Army was roughly reorganized into the Imperial Camp Rear Army, at the time of autumn harvest, Zhao Jiu simply issued an imperial decree, taking advantage of the upcoming land grant, to proactively and further streamline the Imperial Camp Army through an imperial decree... The Imperial Camp originally had more than 200,000 troops, and with the formal incorporation of the Western Army and the additional establishment of the Imperial Camp Cavalry, it was still subject to a total force limit of only 200,000, so that all units were largely laid off.
Among them, the left army of the Imperial Camp led by Han Shizhong was reduced to 30,000 troops; the right army of the Imperial Camp led by Zhang Jun was reduced to 25,000 troops; the central army of the Imperial Camp, including Li Yanxian's troops, Wang Yan's troops, Wang De's troops and the Xinnayuan Imperial Camp's rear army, actually only retained a total of 50,000 troops; Yue Fei's troops in the front army of the Imperial Camp were also reduced to 35,000 troops; Wu Jie's troops in the rear army were 30,000 troops; Qu Duan's troops in the cavalry were 15,000 troops; and Zhang Rong's troops in the navy were 15,000 troops.
Not only that, the appointment and dismissal of many generals were also decided directly by the emperor without any hesitation.
For example, the Xin brothers had great experience, and their loyalty and righteousness were also flawless. They had also been with the army for a long time and were considered Zhao Jiu's trusted soldiers. However, their abilities were too low. Therefore, this time only Xin Yanzong was transferred from the rear army of the Imperial Camp to the commander of the central army of the Imperial Camp. The other brothers were all dismissed and transferred to serve in local state armies.
Wang Yan was similar, and his ability might be beyond doubt, but he was really narrow-minded. As a general, even his subordinates were jealous of him. This time he was directly transferred to a civilian position and became the governor of . Relatively speaking, Li Qiong, who performed well in this battle and was good at uniting his colleagues, was promoted to the right deputy commander-in-chief of the Imperial Camp Central Army. Together with the left deputy commander-in-chief Wang De, he actually took charge of all the units of the Imperial Camp Central Army for Zhao Jiu. It is worth mentioning that Fan Yihong, an old subordinate of Wang Yan who had made great contributions in defending Sishui Pass, also took advantage of the opportunity to be promoted. The former little Fan joined the army and became an official commander of the Imperial Camp Central Army.
There were also generals and officers from Wang Xie's Central Plains army in the Western Army who were further purged during this adjustment. The last commander named Han who was retained, seeing that the situation was not good, took the initiative to resign and was transferred to a local position. However, people like Guo Hao, the son of Guo Cheng, were able to enter the imperial camp and become a commander of the rear army in order to appease the people.
After all the trouble, there were many complaints and grievances, but facing the decisive Emperor Zhao and the terrifying Lu Yihao, few dared to make trouble.
However, the fact that there were no disturbances below did not mean that Zhao Jiu could be such a rigid official. Therefore, as the autumn harvest was over, the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, and the land grant had begun, Zhao Jiu specially held a banquet in Chang'an and invited Han Shizhong and his subordinates, who had not left Chang'an, the various troops in the central army of the imperial camp, Li Yanxian's troops in Shaanxi, and Wu Jie's troops in the rear army of the imperial camp to attend the banquet. It was obvious that he wanted to make a final emotional observation.
"Is Han Shizhong not angry?"
In the old palace of Chang'an, Zhao Jiu, who had summoned a group of close ministers, couldn't help but be curious. "The number of troops has been reduced by one third, but he's not angry?"
"Let the emperor know." Hu Yin responded sternly. "I went to ask, and the meaning of the Prince of Yan'an is probably that this time it is not just him who reduced the number of staff by 31, but all other places are the same. The emperor's move is for the overall situation, not against anyone. Although he is unwilling, he is not angry. Not only that, letting the three brothers Xin Xingzong, Xin Yongzong, and Xin Qizong go away together is a great act of justice..."
Zhao Jiu was silent for a moment, and was rarely confused. Was it that Han Shizhong put public interest above selfishness, or was it that selfishness above public interest?
But no matter what, as long as he doesn't cause trouble, the matter is half over.
After all, Han Liangchen is recognized as the top military official in the world, and this position was not only promoted by Zhao Jiu, but also due to luck, qualifications, and military exploits... In other words, it was indeed earned by Han Shizhong with his own life, and everyone recognized him.
Just look at their performance on the battlefield and you will know, all the dead Lou Shi will admit it!
Even if the people below are resentful, they will not be able to achieve anything if they cannot get past Han Shizhong.
"What about the others?" Zhao Jiu felt relieved and continued to ask. "Did Wu Jie and his people say that I was acting rashly?"
"No." Hu Yin shook his head repeatedly. "The places the emperor asked me to inquire about were all fine, but Qu Duan said a few strange things, which seemed to be a complaint that the emperor was not streamlining the troops in some places..."
Zhao Jiu became more and more speechless, but he could see through Qu Duan's thoughts - the 200,000-strong army of the Imperial Camp was drawn up first, and no one else was reduced. So where would the quota of the Imperial Camp cavalry for him, Qu Da, come from?
Hu Yin said nothing more, and Zhao Jiu looked at Yang Yizhong who was standing on the side.
Yang Yizhong understood and immediately stepped forward with a bow: "Your Majesty, all the commanders of the imperial camp have sent secret letters, no one has been left out..."
Zhao Jiu nodded again, feeling somewhat relieved. After thinking for a moment, he looked at Zhang Jun, who had been wanting to speak but had never had the chance. The latter had just returned from Qinfeng Road.
"Your Majesty, please give your opinion. I will do my best." Zhang Jun, who had become much darker in the past few days, immediately bowed.
"You can host this dinner." Zhao Jiu smiled.
Zhang Jun was overjoyed for a moment, but then he said cautiously: "May I ask your Majesty, wouldn't it be more appropriate for Yuwen Xianggong to do this kind of thing?"
"No problem." Zhao Jiu continued to smile. "I have discussed this with Yuwen Xianggong recently. We both feel that Guanxi is not as good as some places in the south. In the future, Shaanxi and northern Shaanxi will still face the Jin army directly, and the rear is broken. It is time to recuperate and have a steady Xianggong to continue to take charge... So Yuwen Xianggong will have to stay in Chang'an for a while in the future. There is no need to rush."
Zhang Jun seemed to be thinking about something and nodded repeatedly.
Besides, Yuwen Xuzhong's continued stay in Chang'an obviously has nothing to do with hosting a banquet, but Emperor Zhao thinks it is particularly subtle at this time... Yuwen Xuzhong is not leaving, so he will not host the banquet, so who will leave?
What's the point of leaving?
I don’t know about that.
But no matter what, although Xu Jingheng had seriously reminded Emperor Zhao not to use Lu Yihao, the emperor still adopted many of Lu Yihao's policies. Hu Yin, who was standing beside the emperor at this time, had clearly been ambiguous about Zhang Jun becoming the prime minister, but Zhang Jun still received an almost explicit political commitment from the emperor.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the banquet was held smoothly. Zhao Jiu appeared with his attendant Concubine Wu. Then, it was announced on the spot that those who had made outstanding military achievements in the previous battle of Yaoshan and had children of school age would be admitted to the county school, state school, and imperial school according to their military achievements. Among the land surveys, those "righteous people" who returned a large amount of land would also be granted places in the county school, state school, and imperial school, following the example of the previous redemption of refugees in Hebei.
At the same time, starting from next year, normal examinations between the three levels of schools will be fully restored, and the palace examination will be resumed.
Not only that, those who died in previous wars, if they have survivors in their families, will also be granted land. And if their families are extinct and there are only orphans, the land will be managed by Zhao Guanjia himself, and the orphans will be taken back to Tokyo by Zhao Guanjia after the land is granted and raised together.
This was an open and massive "favor". After the announcement, the military, local governments, civil officials, and military officers all smiled, which really diluted a lot of the serious atmosphere brought about by the previous land measurement and troop reorganization.
Of course, there were still accidents. After drinking too much, there was a gap in the prior investigation, and Wang Yan, the governor of Qinfeng Road, cried to Emperor Zhao about his grievances... He was worried that if he left the army like this, coupled with the special nature of the Eight Character Army, people would mistakenly think that he was too eager to seize military power and had done something inappropriate.
Zhao Jiu had no choice but to try his best to coax him, saying that the other party was talented in both civil and military affairs, and should be a civil official. Who knows, if he does well in the future, he could even become a prime minister... This is nonsense.
But you still have to have the attitude.
And you know what, except for Wang Yan, this banquet was much more harmonious than the last one for the generals and officers. It can be seen that these people are also weak and afraid of hardship.
Just like that, Emperor Zhao held a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, which was considered to be a start and end to the Guanzhong affairs. After that, he ignored the repeated urgings from the direction of Tokyo... It was said that the Goryeo envoys had returned there, and Nianhan Guaihan went south to Daming Prefecture, and there were arrangements for the southward rebellion. The empress dowager and the nobles of Yangzhou requested to formally return to Tokyo, and Concubine Pan's "increasingly pregnant" and "missing more and more", and so on and so forth... He was basically forced to wait here in Chang'an, and only led the army back east after the land grant was completely formally completed.
However, before leaving, the final arrangements for Guanxi were finally made, which was to let Yuwen Xuzhong continue to stay in Chang'an, Hu Yin was the transport envoy of the five routes in Guanxi, Han Shizhong's imperial camp left army moved to Chang'an to take charge of Guanxi's military affairs, Wu Jie stationed in Fangzhou to respond to northern Shaanxi and fight against Wanyan Huonu in Yan'an Prefecture...
At the same time, Zhao Jiu formally dismissed Zhang Jun from his position as the transport commissioner of the five routes of Bashu and transferred him to the position of Hanlin scholar, but he appointed Xiaolin scholar as the governor of Chengdu Prefecture and Liu Ziwu as the governor of Lizhou Road.
However, it must be mentioned that a person who had been ignored before unexpectedly received an unprecedented promotion. Zhao Kai, Zhang Jun's former financial confidant, had This time, this financial expert is currently assigned to be the transport judge of the nine routes of Guanxi, Bashu, and Shaanxi, and the chief supervisor of tea and salt affairs of the nine routes, and the supervisor of horse purchasing and pastoral affairs along the border.
At the same time, he was given an extra purple robe and was allowed to use military horses to deliver secret letters directly to the emperor... This person was west of Tongguan and was apparently only under the command of Yuwen Xuzhong.
Some people say that this was due to Zhang Jun's recommendation, while others say that this was the government's pilot project for the country's financial reform. If Zhao Kai did well, he might be able to serve the emperor directly, rise rapidly to become the Minister of Revenue, take charge of the country's finances, and even have the opportunity to become a provincial governor.
But no matter what, it was a clear and cool autumn month in September. Not to mention Han Shizhong moving to Huaixi and Qu Duan staying in Guanxi waiting to buy horses, Emperor Zhao led the imperial army and countless other entourage, and officially returned to the capital in a mighty procession. Except for offering sacrifices to Prime Minister Wang at the ruins of the abandoned capital, they did not stay for any extra time.
In mid-September, the emperor arrived in Zhengzhou. The day before, the front-page headlines of the official newspaper were still writing nonsense like "The war is fierce, Tokyo has never wavered in its support for the emperor" and "The emperor will arrive in the capital soon". However, the next day, a very brief supplement was suddenly published.
The supplement contained only five brief messages:
First, Xu Xianggong, who had been handling the issue of converting military settlements into private land in Henan, had actually been ill for a long time. As soon as the emperor returned, he had no choice but to resign in Zhengzhou. The emperor had failed to persuade him to stay in person, and had already agreed to let Xu Xianggong return home.
Moreover, the emperor has already issued an edict, asking the Hanlin scholars to discuss the rewards and treatment of Prime Minister Xu after his retirement as a king. At the same time, they are also discussing the restoration of the treatment of Li Gang and Li Boji.
Second, the Empress Dowager and members of the royal family will continue to guard Yangzhou.
Third, Hanlin scholar Zhang Jun was promoted to Privy Councilor due to his military achievements in Guanxi, and officially became the Prime Minister of the Western Palace.
Fourthly, Yue Fei, the commander-in-chief of the front army of the Imperial Camp, had already led his troops south to quell the rebellion of Zhong Xiang long before the central army of the Imperial Camp arrived in Henan.
Fifth, according to the proposal of Lu Yihao, the Prime Minister of Southeast, the two Prime Ministers of Southeast and Jingxiang were dismissed from their full powers.
Among them, Lu Yihao, the envoy to the southeast, was transferred to be the governor of Liangzhe Road, and Liu Ji, the envoy to Jingxiang, immediately went to Beijing to serve as the deputy prime minister after Yue Fei's troops arrived.
He then summoned Zhao Ding, the transport envoy of the two routes in Huainan, to the capital and appointed him as the prime minister of the capital province to assist the prime minister Lu Haowen in managing the government.
It was Zhao Ding indeed! After all, the emperor's desire to appoint virtuous people overcame his kinship!
As he was about to enter Tokyo, the Imperial Censor Wanqi Xie flicked the paper and sighed. He was not surprised at all, because he had already thought that no matter what, there must be people in the court to do the work.
