Chapter 1 Thunder (Four Parts) Just when Li Xu was worried about when to use troops in the mountainous area, King Mantian of the "Great Yan Kingdom" was also scratching his head over the same problem. Since the twelfth year of Daye, his double eyelids have appeared every day. They all keep dancing. As the saying goes, "The left eyelid jumps to make money, and the right eyelid jumps to disaster." But the days when these two eyelids jump together are really unbearable.
"Grandma, it's better to end it as soon as possible than to do this!" Wang Xuba slapped the imperial case hard with his hand, and cursed through gritted teeth. The yellow pear wood case was moved by him from the study of an old man. It was extremely strong. No matter how sharp the sword is, it can still make a hole. Under his strike, there are a few crunching sounds, and the shelves fall apart in an instant. The jade cup fell all over the floor
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what's wrong with you!" Several soldiers rushed into the Jinluan Hall, which was transformed from a temple, with pale faces. They lay on the ground and asked in panic that King Dayan has been very angry recently. This is the reason for the whole "Dayan Kingdom". It is a well-known fact that the body of the princess who was kicked to death by him yesterday was still placed under the old locust tree outside the palace gate. Everyone looked at it pitifully, but without the words of King Yan, no one dared to let her rest in peace.
"Get out of here, get out of here, get out of here. I'm going to get annoyed when I see you guys, so get out of the mountain and dig for food with a hoe. Don't come back. Don't come back at all!" Wang Xuba raised his leg. , one by one, he kicked down all the soldiers who were busy cleaning up the "rags" on the ground. Perhaps thinking of past friendship, he did not use all his strength. The soldiers rubbed their buttocks, rolled and crawled out of the temple gate, and squatted Shaking their heads relative to each other in the shade
The days are hard to pass. Although as the weather gets warmer, the mountain wind is no longer as sharp as a knife, but everyone's heart is getting colder and colder. It's no wonder that King Yan has a bad temper. Even His Majesty the Emperor of Sui Dynasty, If he found out that half of his people had escaped within a few months, he would never be calm.
Since the beginning of spring, the population of "Dayan Kingdom" has decreased by more than half! The people who were brought in by the Xie were at first moved out of the mountains in twos and threes in the name of visiting relatives, and later they simply fled in groups to the Mantianwang Sect. He asked his brothers to stop him, and as a result, some brothers who swore to live and die together also deserted. Only three months later, the land sandwiched between Wuhuiling, Feihu Pass and Qiao Niu Mountain became empty. The wild vegetables that were regarded as treasures at that time have grown to more than half a foot tall, and the leaves are so old that they can no longer produce pulp, but no one picks them anymore.
All this is thanks to the new dog officer sent by the imperial court. This man is not only good at using troops, but also has a good way of governing the place. Just a few days after taking office, he immediately issued an order to move Shanggu, Hengshan, Boling, Zhao, etc. All the abandoned and ownerless land in the six counties of Zhuo and Xindu, which is ten miles away from the county seat, is divided into civilian villages. People without land in each county can go to the government to claim land for reclamation. Each adult man can claim up to fifteen acres of flat land. The government lends agricultural tools and seeds, and pays taxes based on half of the fertile land near the city. If the land has been cultivated for more than five years and taxes are paid on time, the land will be owned by the cultivator himself, and the government will issue a land deed without any repudiation.
Those are flat lands where oil can flow out when you dig a pickaxe! Although it has been abandoned for several years and was ravaged by heavy snowfalls in early spring, you can burn it with fire and use plows to pull out a few furrows for planting. Add some buckwheat, millet and other low-yield and easy-to-grow late grains, and the whole family will never have to go hungry to drink from the northwest wind in winter.
In the past, the refugees did not cultivate land, firstly because they had no seeds in their hands, and secondly, because many of the landowners were still alive. Although they were hiding in the city and did not dare to send people to cultivate the land, once you had a harvest, these people would definitely give it to you with red eyes.
Besides, everyone is afraid that bandits will come to rob them, and the whole year of busy work will be wiped out in an instant. But the dog officer said in the order that he will send troops to station at various farming sites during the autumn harvest. Who wants to get guns and food first?
Ask the brothers under his command if they have swords in their hands.
With this guarantee, many subjects of the "Yan Kingdom" were concerned. Wang Xuba's "territory" was all in the mountains, and the harvest was less than half of that on the plains. Moreover, the taxes of the King of Yan were not fixed at all. How much did he want to collect and when did he collect it?
, it all depends on the mood of the old man. In the past, everyone could not find a way to survive in the city, so they had to flee to the mountains. Now that there is a way out, who is willing to live such a hard and frightening life again?
"The Sui Dynasty always broke its promises. The dog official lied to you and gave you the wasteland. How should he explain it to the big families in the city?" At the beginning, Wang Xuba used similar words to appease his people.
It had a certain effect, but soon, the people who escaped secretly sent in a letter, saying that the soothing envoy was indeed true to his word. Some of the original owners of the land he distributed to everyone have died in the past few years, and some have fled elsewhere.
If you go, there is absolutely no way you will come back to pester me. Another theory is that Mr. Gaozuo and the big families in the city took action. Several wealthy people who danced the most happily were killed by him on the grounds of colluding with the bandits and destroying the villages.
Yes, my head is hanging on the city wall
Of course, these are all rumors, and no one has the time to delve into what kind of agreement Mr. Li has reached with the rich. Anyway, the people who escaped first received seeds, farm tools, and new land from some military-looking guys as they wished.
The soldiers who came were very different from the soldiers in everyone's impression. Not only were they all pleasant-looking, they also took the initiative to remind the people to plant sorghum on the edges of the land they received, so as not to be confused about the boundaries between them in the future.
With the example of the forerunners, the people who were still hesitating in the mountains could no longer sit still. In order to prevent his subjects from continuing to escape, Wang Xuba had to send people to block the large and small intersections out of the mountains, but he could not stop those who were accustomed to walking on the mountain roads.
The people on the soles of the feet are all from the hometown, and they know the terrain of Wuhuiling and Qioniu Mountain better than Wang Xuba. They can just drill a few ditches and turn over a few rocks and they can disappear under the eyes of the minions, before the minions can wait.
After recovering from the shock, the mountain people had already appeared half a mile away from the checkpoint.
Wang Xuba was unwilling to sit still and wait for death. He led his troops down the mountain several times. However, the officers and soldiers at this time were no longer the same group of wimps that he had ravaged before. The two sides fought several battles on the plains, but before the generals surnamed Li could lead them in person.
When the soldiers came, the soldiers of the "Great Yan Kingdom" could no longer hold up. Most of the opponents were cavalry. They never followed common sense when fighting. They always bullied the brothers of the "Great Yan Kingdom". The bows and arrows and armors in their hands were not as good as the ones from a distance.
After a burst of random shooting, the soldiers of the "Dayan Kingdom" finally rushed forward at the risk of death. They then galloped away and ran away, not forgetting to turn around and fire another round of horse arrows.
After a few rounds, the soldiers of the "Dayan Kingdom" lost the confidence to win and could not fight back after being beaten. No one could bear this situation, but the opponent got an advantage and behaved. After every battle, the prisoners were released, saying that they were not officials.
Instead of following Wang Xuba's nonsense, it is better to go home and have a happy birthday. General Li promised to ignore the past grudges and distribute land and seeds to them like ordinary people.
Wang Xuba saw that he could not defeat the cavalry on the plains, so he had to adopt tactics of luring the enemy deep into the mountains. He set up numerous traps in the mountains for the enemy to exploit, but the officers and soldiers did not fall for them. Every time they fought, they just drove the "Yan Army" away from the plains.
Never hunt down with all your strength
After several twists and turns, the rebel soldiers had no strength and no place to do anything. They watched their "Great Yan Kingdom" decline day by day and had nothing to do but lament.
Thieves in the mountains are easy to deal with, but thieves at home are difficult to guard against. "It's ridiculous. Did the imperial court send him here just to farm the land?" Some local officials did not give in to the comfort of the master. They went into the mountains to plow the bandits and sweep their dens, but they immersed themselves in meddling in the local area.
They were very dissatisfied with the behavior of the civil affairs, and complained privately. They soon discovered that the public security in the city was gradually improving. As the banditry disappeared, refugees and idlers began to make a living, and the market, which had been quiet for a long time, was slowly
It slowly became lively. Some lambs, cattle, horses and other livestock from outside the Great Wall appeared in everyone's sight again. Some merchants who had not been here for a long time also boldly traveled across the mountains and ridges to sell local specialties to Zhuojun, Yuyang and even more.
far away wilderness
And some wealthy people whose interests were slightly damaged also began to talk about the benefits of appeasing the envoy. In Li Xu's decree, they lost some wasteland that could not be harvested, but at the same time they no longer had to pay taxes to the government for those lands every year.
The pacification envoy personally promised that when the ground is completely peaceful, those abandoned villages further away from the city will also be merged into the ranks of the people's villages and all the unclaimed wasteland. The big families can send their servants to cultivate the land, and the treatment will be the same as that of the refugees.
Since the ninth year of Daye, in order to prevent bandits from robbing the people and turning them into soldiers, the imperial court ordered all villages that were far away from the city and unable to build forts to defend themselves to be abandoned. Those once fertile lands have become the nests of rabbits and wild wolves. No one dares to go far away from the city.
Farming fifty miles away, even if gold could grow in the land, no one dared to risk their lives to comfort Ambassador Li Xu who announced that he would retake those lands from bandits and wild beasts, which undoubtedly made many people's eyes sparkle with excitement.
Although this move somewhat contradicted the imperial decree, local officials and wealthy families collectively remained silent in the face of huge interests.
"That boy is relying on Your Majesty's trust and is used to being ridiculous. This little thing is not a big mistake. Besides, everyone will benefit from taking back the fields!" Several county guards said this when they were ventilating in private. Li Xu had been impeached several times.
After the results, they also leaked some information. According to well-informed people, it is not that the imperial court did not want to replace Li Xu, but His Majesty the First His Majesty's own attitude was very difficult to guess. If he rashly gave Li Xu little shoes to wear, it was inevitable that someone would be sent to Lingnan again.
Chapter 2: Catching the Elephant Except for Li Xu, a daring fellow, no one else is really willing to go to these four battle sites and face King Mantian, Li Shanfei, Dou Jiande and Zhang Jinsheng at the same time. Moreover, General Luo Yi of Huben will have to fight sooner or later.
It is a fact that everyone knows that if he rebelled, the first thing that would block his way south would be the Fenyang Army and the Sui Dynasty.
I really can’t find many opponents.
For all the above reasons, real or fictitious, the officials temporarily accepted Li Xu's absurd order. However, after entering Xia, another more absurd order from Li Xu, the newly appointed ambassador to comfort the six counties and the general manager of the Fenyang Army, made everyone completely sit up.
Unable to bear it, he actually used the name of lack of talent in the army, government and people to recruit talents, and publicly announced that regardless of family origin, as long as he thought he had some ability, whether in martial arts or strategy, he could nominate anyone who passed the exam.
, they will be granted official positions and hired on their own merits.
"This is simply lawless!" Several county governors were so angry that they jumped to their feet. Local officials and court officials are two completely different systems. Although county governors, county magistrates, and county magistrates are all appointed by the court, the chief clerk, meritorious officials are all appointed by the court.
Cao, Xicao, Jin, Hu, Bing, Fa, Shi and other officials have always been appointed by the county governors on their own. Li Xu went out to recruit talents, and promising them to be officials was tantamount to directly invading the power of the county guards and county magistrates.
range, everyone couldn't help but take action
Six county magistrates and more than 30 officials under their respective command jointly wrote a letter to the Ambassador's Palace to protest, announcing that if the Ambassador did not give up intruding on daily government affairs, they would have to hang up their crowns collectively to express their protest against the officials' intransigence.
Li Xu withdrew his order, but thought that after seeing the true strength of his own side, the young and ignorant Comfort Ambassador would restrain himself. Unexpectedly, on the fourth day after the letter was delivered to the Comfort Ambassador's house, Li Xu sent troops to kill several soldiers.
The county guard invited Boling one after another. He took out the seal given by the imperial court and announced in public that since he was an ambassador of comfort and was ordered to depose and elect county civil and military officials, he could not turn a blind eye and turn a blind eye to the dereliction of duty of local officials.
"Officials from all over the country are as afraid of bandits as tigers. Every time the thieves have not arrived, the people who are guarding the country will flee first and deeply owe the emperor's favor. The crime cannot be forgiven. Considering that the rogue bandits are strong in various places and the troops in the counties and counties are not uniform, I will not pursue the case for the time being!" Everyone's impression
General Li, who knew how to swing a knife right away, chewed his article and began to read words. It was just the threat contained in the words. Like a big stick falling from the sky, he instantly beat six local officials to stars in front of their eyes.
Straight up
At this time, everyone remembered that this rough guy from a humble background actually had the power to appoint and remove local officials on his own. Although each of them had their own family support behind them, and there was also a backstage in the court, they forced the other party to move.
Coarse, he was beaten to the ground on the charge of "fearing bandits like tigers and abandoning the city without fighting!" I am afraid that the court will only turn a blind eye to this.
"As far as I know, even the smallest county under your command has more than a hundred officials. You are impeaching me for refusing to go into the mountains to suppress the bandits. I dare to ask which county magistrate under your command has ever taken the initiative to fight against the bandits over the years?
?You all have the responsibility of informing the people. May I ask why over the years, there have been fewer and fewer people and more and more thieves?" Li Xu was unreasonable and asked with a sneer, which made several county guards look pale.
Rutu
"Since the prime ministers, lieutenants, and soldiers at all levels dare not lead the army to protect the country and the people, what is the use of these local military positions? Since the bosses at all levels cannot benefit the people, what is the use of keeping these bosses?" He waved his hand and ordered someone to bring them up.
A large stack of papers said, "You are just going to the court to impeach me, but I also have a bunch of notes in my hand to impeach you. Can you tell me whether I should deal with it impartially?"
"Then, those are all unscrupulous people. They are making false accusations against you. You must not take them seriously!" Zu Deren, the prefect of Zhao County, was so frightened that he trembled all over and responded stutteringly.
There is a saying that it is better to be an official than to be in charge of everyone. After serving in the local area for many years, sometimes it is inevitable to think that one has deep roots, do something out of the ordinary and accept bribes. Nepotism is the true state of government in the Sui Dynasty. If you get involved carefully, I am afraid someone will be the bottom.
They all have a lot of shit hidden in them. Li Xu has endured for more than half a year to collect everyone's evidence. He must have many people in his hands. If he confronts him head-on, the result will definitely be ruined. It is better to surrender first and wait for this rough and angry person.
It's gone. Let's find another opportunity to deal with him.
With similar thoughts, several other county guards also stood up and bowed to Li Xu to apologize, "Your Excellency, you only think about the country and the people. We also know that sometimes it is the people below who are making mischief, and we have to let Your Excellency take action on their thoughts."
I heard it, so I signed my name to remonstrate with you. Although my actions may be reckless, my intentions are not conflicting. I hope you will examine them carefully and forgive me for my short-term mistake!"
When it comes to this, according to common sense, the other party should accept it as soon as it is good. After all, if one person resists the officials of six counties, even an honorable minister like Ji Jinggong Fan Zigai will have to weigh the losses on his side. Who would have expected that Li
Xu was not angry, but when he was angry, he couldn't control it. He sneered, picked up an official document casually, pointed to the words on it and asked: "What a cunning man falsely accused Zu Taishou. How many of your distant nephews are named Zu Junyan?"
Li remembers that he once served as an official in Dongjun, but later he lost his title because of disagreements with his superiors. Do you know where he has gone now?"
"Jun Yan, Jun Yan!" Zu Deren's white hair and sweat broke out on his forehead, rolling down his eyebrows and temples. When he looked at the other county guards, their faces all turned from white to green, and his hands were clenched into fists.
But he didn't have any courage to step forward and fight Li Xu.
"Brother Jun Yan is famous far and wide. Your Majesty has long heard that our ancestors have such talents, so why let them be buried? I am missing a long history here. If Master Zu has the opportunity, you might as well write a letter to Brother Jun Yan and let him come to me.
Come here to serve!" Li Xu smiled and looked at several local leaders with a knife-like gaze.
