As the Han Dynasty continued to expand and develop, the economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West became increasingly frequent. The number of foreign merchants and messengers traveling on the sea and land trade routes naturally increased year by year. Over the past few decades, the number of foreigners who settled in the country had also increased.
The number of people has become extremely large. There are hundreds of thousands of people in Guangzhou alone, and nationwide.
With so many foreign visitors, it is not surprising that there are places like Fanfang Street dedicated to the residence and business of foreigners from all over the world. Not to mention Guangzhou Prefecture, it exists even in capital areas such as Liangjing.
Banfang.
Therefore, the old emperor's dissatisfaction with Fanfang in Panyu City was not due to the existence of Fanfang itself. The reason for his anger lay in the corresponding management system. In the final analysis, it was still in the local yamen of Guangzhou and even Guangnan East Road.
The Han Empire opened its doors to the outside world and actively engaged in foreign exchanges. It welcomed overseas businessmen to do business and even allowed them to stay permanently. However, one thing must be made clear. This openness is the bottom line. There is an especially important prerequisite, that is, everything
Foreign merchants and guests must abide by government management, accept the constraints of Han law, and even have to follow the local customs
To this end, the imperial court also issued a set of "Regulations on the Management of Foreign Business and Civil Affairs", which strictly and clearly stipulated the management responsibilities of the government and the restrictive conditions for foreign affairs.
This divided system is naturally well implemented in the two capitals. However, in Guangzhou, the situation is not optimistic. It is not only a problem of poor implementation, but also a serious lack of management system for foreigners. The Guangzhou government gave the territory
The outsiders waited for too much freedom, to the extent that it exceeded the old emperor's bottom line.
The old emperor supported openness in action and welcomed foreign merchants to come and go, but from the bottom of his heart, he was always on guard, with tolerance on the surface and suspicion on the inside.
In particular, these foreign merchants are not only barbarians from the "old, young, border and poor" areas of the Han Dynasty, but also include many people who are not even nominally from the areas ruled by the Han Dynasty, but come from another civilization——
It’s about cannibalism. Guangzhou Prefecture is the largest cannibal settlement in the empire. These people came across the ocean through the Maritime Silk Road. Some of them have a history of more than two hundred years and settled in Guangzhou.
In this place where the radiation power of the central empire is relatively weak, survival and reproduction...
In fact, even cannibalism is not that scary, and the old emperor's mind and tolerance are not so narrow-minded. What really scares him is the sect called YSL.
The old emperor's attitude towards religion has always been prejudiced. As for the YSL religion, he deeply hates it. His attitude of contempt and disgust can be said to be deep-rooted.
Regarding the ysl world, since the Han Dynasty conquered the Black Khanate in the west, the two sides have been in a state of hostility. When Liu Min started to "exterminate religion" in Anxi, the old emperor also implemented a ban policy in the country, ostracizing and eliminating SL on a large scale.
Then the conflict between the two parties will become deeper.
In the country, it may not be obvious that a mere foreigner can't change the world, but in Anxi and Gaochang areas, the hatred is as deep as the sea. As the Anxi Governor's Office began to carry out the "remaining headless and irreligious" campaign against his subordinates,
"The religious reformation was like a raging fire cooking oil, exploding endlessly.
The situation in Anxi is already like this. For the officials and people in the mainland, it is difficult to feel as deeply as if they were there. However, Guangzhou Prefecture thinks that the sky is high and the emperor is far away. They are not vigilant and even openly defy the imperial court.
This was something the old emperor could no longer tolerate.
The numerous temples and daily worship activities on Fanfang Street in Panyu City were enough to make the old emperor furious. At that time, the imperial court issued an edict to ban the YSL religion, which started with the destruction of those temples.
As for the Guangzhou Prefecture, they either didn't realize that the imperial court attached great importance to this matter, or they didn't take the imperial edict seriously. No matter which point, the sin is hard to redeem!
In addition to religious issues, what made the old emperor even more angry was the laxity of the Guangzhou government's management system for the Fan people. It was almost laissez-faire. Those Fanfang streets were all autonomous. The situation was so serious that it was even difficult for Han people to enter.
It was so difficult for Han officials to manage it.
Guangzhou, an "international metropolis", actually has such a "state within a state". One can imagine how the old emperor would feel after seeing it.
Panyu Palace, Dacheng Hall, was the place chosen by the old emperor to stay.
After a day's inspection, he returned to the palace. Before entering the palace, the old emperor stopped and raised his hand. The servants, generals, and guards who were closely following him all subconsciously bowed and waited for orders.
"Go and call me Zhang Jie and Liu Changyan!" the old emperor ordered to Hu De. He pondered for a while and then added: "Call Hou Yanguang too!"
"Yes!" Hood responded decisively.
The old emperor's expression was natural and his tone was not harsh, but Hu De, who knew him well, knew very well that the official family was very angry and dangerous at this time.
It gets dark so fast in winter that almost in a blink of an eye, the entire sky is covered by night. Of course, the lively and rich nightlife of Panyu City also begins. The city is filled with thousands of lights and the palaces are filled with lights.
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Outside the brightly lit Dacheng Hall, three figures hurriedly arrived. The first one to arrive was an elegant old man, about fifty years old, wearing purple clothes and with a careful look on his brows. He was Liu Changyan, the prefect of Guangzhou.
Liu Changyan was from Quanzhou. When he was young, he served under Chen Hongjin, who was the governor of Zhangquan at that time. However, before long, without any achievements, Wang Shi came south, swept through the southern country, and became a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty along with Chen Hongjin.
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It can be said that Liu Changyan grew up in the old society and lived in the new era. He first worked as an official in Quanzhou, and then when Chen Hongjin returned to his hometown to visit relatives, he was recommended to Beijing for reference and became a high school Jinshi.
This is an out-and-out Nanchen, with a clear "Zhangquan" mark on him. However, his own talents are on the one hand, and he received help from Chen Hongjin in his early years, but more importantly, he later received the help of the prime minister.
Zhao Pu's promotion.
He was able to become the prefect of Guangzhou because Zhao Pu recommended him to the post after he paid homage to the prime minister for the second time. Therefore, among the Taoist-level bureaucrats in Guangnan East Road, Liu Changyan had a profound background.
The winter night wind was blowing on his body, and it was still quite cold. Standing outside the palace, Liu Changyan couldn't help but shrink his neck and rub his hands. Looking at the open door of the palace, he couldn't help but hesitate. He really didn't dare to be alone.
Go to see the old emperor.
Fortunately, before he hesitated for a while, a figure walked quickly under the lighted corridor. When he got closer, he saw a middle-aged man with a strong body and a stern appearance, wearing a general's attire, and the commander of Guangnan East Road, Hou Yanguang.
Hou Yanguang has an extraordinary family background. His grandfather is Hou Yi, who was once the governor of Fengxiang. He was also a man of great influence in the early Han Dynasty. He was related to the stability of the western frontier of the Han Dynasty. He was suspected of colluding with Meng Shu. In the end, he was able to keep his family wealthy and was granted the title of
Duke of Lu (later deposed).
His father was Hou Renju, the general of the Northern Expedition. During the Northern Expedition, he led the cavalry to gallop through the Western Liaoning Corridor and made great military exploits. Later, he led the army in the Northeast for a long time. When Hou Renju fell ill and died young, the old emperor even issued a special edict to commemorate him, saying:
The great Han Dynasty lost a pillar of his army.
Over the past few decades, the Hou family has become a big family in the Han Dynasty. It is quite influential in the military and political circles, and its success rate is not low. Hou Yanguang is the leader among his third generation descendants. But he can be regarded as one of the most powerful families in the Han Dynasty when he is less than fifty years old.
At the age of 18, he became the commander of a city and was in charge of the entire military affairs of Guangnan East Road. In addition to his family background, he also had some abilities.
When he saw Hou Yanguang, Liu Changyan immediately greeted him, raised his hands and saluted: "I have met General Hou Du!"
After sizing up Liu Changyan, Hou Yanguang looked slightly surprised: "Prefect Liu is here too?"
Liu Changyan kept his posture very low and said softly: "Your Majesty summoned me, what is the matter?"
"You will know when you meet Your Majesty in person!" Hearing the man's probing intentions, Hou Yanguang said calmly without any emotion on his face.
While the two were trying to exchange pleasantries, the important person arrived late. Zhang Jie, then the chief envoy of Guangnan East Road, arrived.