Five years as county magistrate, hundreds of millions of kilograms of grain shocked Li Shimin Chapter 253 About the candidates to quell the chaos in Lingnan
Chapter 253 About the candidates to quell the chaos in Lingnan
People are still grieving the death of Du Ruhui.
News of the Liao rebellion came back from Lingnan Road.
Lingnan Road is located in the southernmost part of the Tang Dynasty. It has a vast territory with few people, numerous mountains and forests, and a tribal culture.
In this era, sending prisoners to Lingnan means throwing them into a place with a different language and culture. It is a very cruel punishment.
But that place belongs to the Tang Dynasty!
Therefore, there was a rebellion in Lingnan Road, and Tang Dynasty sent troops to put it down.
A group of soldiers wrote letters one after another, willing to lead their troops to pacify it!
However, Li Shimin did not send troops immediately, but summoned ministers for discussion.
As the commander of Chang'an, Fang Yuan had experience in quelling chaos, so he was invited to discuss matters together.
"In the three years since I came to the throne, there have been three rebellions among the Liao people!"
"In the nine years that the Supreme Emperor has been in power, there have been nine rebellions among the Liao people!"
"Sending troops once a year will not bother those uncivilized officials. I have to consider the national finances. Do you think there is any way to solve this problem once and for all?"
Li Shimin said angrily.
The problem of Liao people is already a historical problem.
Because of the differences in culture and customs, it is too far away from the center.
There were no less than one rebellion, large or small, every year, which was a headache for the court.
If it is not pacified, it will affect the country's prestige, and in serious cases, it will shake the country's foundation.
To pacify the situation, sending troops there every year would waste people and money, and the soldiers would also suffer losses.
"Your Majesty, let the army sweep across and beat them until they surrender!"
"We have now quelled the external chaos, so we have the time and energy to quell them!"
As Minister of the Ministry of War, Li Jing was the first to express his opinions with great arrogance.
After the destruction of the Eastern Turks, his reputation was unparalleled and he was called the military god of the world.
Although Li Jing is always careful not to get carried away, he still can't help but feel carried away occasionally.
"We have been fighting for one year, two years, and more than ten years, but the problem has still not been solved. This shows that the problem of military personnel cannot be solved by war alone."
"Your Majesty, I believe that the Liao people live in the mountains and forests. We should govern them with kindness and kindness, educate them with culture, and they will naturally belong to our dynasty."
Changsun Wuji refuted Li Jing and also put forward his own ideas.
"If the language is different and the culture is different, how can we govern with kindness and educate their culture?"
Li Jinglue seemed dissatisfied, and after Changsun Wuji finished speaking, he refuted.
"The languages are different, but that doesn't mean we can't communicate."
"Cultures are different, but that doesn't mean they can't blend."
"It is always useful to spend some time and communicate between the two places."
Changsun Wuji said calmly.
"Take some time, how much time does it take?"
"How can we communicate between two places? We are far away and we don't have that many talents."
Li Jing snorted coldly.
"If you want to accomplish something, it's worth spending any time."
"If there are no talents, then we must create talents and recruit more candidates for the imperial examination."
Changsun Wuji pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice.
"That's not what it says."
"Even if it's a century-old plan, you have to know how much time to spend on it, rather than investing your energy indiscriminately."
"The expansion of recruitment of talents for the imperial examination will only recruit children from aristocratic families. I am afraid they are not willing to go to Lingnan. It will only ruin the reputation of the imperial court."
"In my opinion, only by pushing the army across the border, being ruthless and conquering them completely can we truly put an end to the rebellion year after year."
Li Jing's expression slowly returned to calm.
He is not a reckless general, but a commander-in-chief with a flexible mind.
"Okay!"
"Any other ideas?"
Li Shimin interrupted the two people's argument.
Whether it is Changsun Wuji or Li Jing’s idea, there are problems.
Changsun Wuji’s problem is that he doesn’t know the time cost, and there is a high probability that scholars will not go to Lingnan, and it may really affect the imperial examination.
Li Jing's problem was that he only wanted to solve the problem with violence, but the court was not familiar with Lingnan Road. There were many mountains and forests there, not plains, so it was not easy to start a war.
"Your Majesty, I think we can refer to the Western Han Dynasty's governance of the south and govern customs with customs."
"While affirming their customs, we will also send people to inject the culture of our Tang Dynasty. It is best for both parties to marry each other, and let the women of the Tang Dynasty marry the officials and educate their descendants."
"In this way, after twenty or thirty years, most of the descendants of the Liao people will slowly be assimilated by us, and the court will control, guide, recruit, etc., and the problems in Lingnan will be solved."
Fang Xuanling stood up and said slowly.
After the words fell, everyone, including Li Shimin, looked deep in thought.
"I think this method is not impossible, but it also has many disadvantages."
"For example, how many women must be married before most of the Liao people's descendants can be assimilated by us?"
"For another example, if a woman from the Tang Dynasty marries her, will she only become a tool for reproduction and not have the status to educate her children?"
"The most important point is that now our Tang Dynasty needs to recuperate and increase its population. At this time, a large number of women are married off. What will happen to the national conditions?"
Wang Gui also stood up.
But he didn't refute Li Jing like Changsun Wuji.
I just put forward my own opinions and raise questions about Fang Xuanling's plan.
"It is indeed a problem!"
"Is there any other opposite?"
Li Shimin sighed and said disappointedly.
The world experienced the chaos of the Sui Dynasty, people's livelihood declined, and the population became sparse.
Now the Tang Dynasty has only been recuperating for a few years, and still needs to vigorously develop its population.
At this time, marrying off a large number of women was a burden to the Tang Dynasty.
Fang Xuanling also sighed, knowing that there were many problems with his ideas, and returned to his position in despair.
Everyone was silent, thinking about countermeasures.
Among the ministers, Fang Yuan hesitated for a long time before standing up.
"Your Majesty, I have a plan!"
Fang Yuan said respectfully.
He didn't want to be in the limelight.
But after thinking about it, I should show my behavior at this time. When I am promoted to Minister of Justice, the rebuttal voice should not be so loud.
So Fang Yuan stood up and prepared to bring out the historical records in his vague memory.
"Speak!"
Li Shimin was a little surprised.
He called Fang Yuan over today just to show his face.
So that when it is announced that Fang Yuan will be promoted to Minister of Justice, the ministers present will have less opposition.
But I never thought that Fang Yuan, a young man, would actually have an idea and dare to say it in front of so many ministers.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
You know, apart from Fang Yuan, those gathered in the Imperial Study Room today are all ministers of rank four or above, the true ministers of the country.
Everyone at the scene looked at Fang Yuan, some were curious, some were surprised, and some were contemptuous.
"As we all know, the Liao people in Lingnan are mainly tribes, and the leader of each tribe is called chieftain. Their system is the chieftain system."
"In their tribe, the chieftain is like our emperor, with supreme power and managing the men and women in the tribe."
"The rebellion of the Liao people is ultimately the rebellion of the chieftains of various tribes. They do not want the imperial court to seize their control of Lingnan."
Fang Yuan said slowly.
As Fang Yuan told the situation in Lingnan, the expressions of everyone present gradually became serious.
Including Li Shimin, the imperial court's understanding of Lingnan was very limited, almost in a state of free rein.
There are several reasons for this.
First, Lingnan is too far away and has always been called the Southern Barbarians. The imperial court did not value Lingnan.
Second, the imperial court did not really regard Lingnan as the territory of the Tang Dynasty. It belonged to the Tang Dynasty entirely because of historical legacy.
Third, the Tang Dynasty did not have so much time to govern Lingnan. During the Wude years, most of the time was to quell the civil strife among the princes. In the Zhenguan years, there was a big enemy, the Eastern Turks.
"I believe that the imperial court can recognize the chieftains of each tribe in Lingnan, and canonize them as officials of the Tang Dynasty, such as being named governors, receiving salary, etc., giving them the highest salary, and paying them condolences three or five times a year."
Fang Yuan continued.
I wanted to continue talking, but someone interrupted me at this time.
"If we grant them an official position, will they accept it?"
"There are probably hundreds or even thousands of tribes in Lingnan, large and small. How much salary will they be given?"
"As for condolences, do their tribal leaders need our condolences? Do they need our gifts?"
Cui Zhentang, the Minister of Household Affairs, stood up and said in a deep voice.
The others said nothing and looked at Fang Yuan, waiting for Fang Yuan's explanation.
"That's a good question, Mr. Cui."
"We recognize their status and grant them official positions without requiring them to pay anything. Normal people would not refuse the benefits they receive for nothing, right?"
"To take a step back, although they have rebelled repeatedly, if they had a choice, they would not want to rebel. After all, the lower-level officials will be dissatisfied."
"I think it is feasible to take advantage of us and solve the problem of hostility between the imperial court and the imperial court."
Fang Yuan said loudly.
The minister nodded subconsciously.
"Why does the imperial court give them benefits?"
Cui Zhentang continued to ask.
"Meeting in Lingnan's internal affairs for the sake of fairness."
"They are all our officials. Is it okay for us to take care of them a little? Is it okay for us to care about the lower-level officials from time to time?"
"As time goes by, the people at the bottom will know about the Queen of the Tang Dynasty, and there will definitely be fewer people responding to the subsequent rebellion."
Fang Yuan chuckled.
"What if they don't do this?"
Cui Zhentang's face was a little stiff.
Originally, I wanted to refute Fang Yuan, but Fang Yuan answered fluently and sounded better than the previous ministers.
This made his plan fail and made him feel unhappy.
Li Shimin's expression became solemn, showing that he was listening carefully.
He is also worried about this, what if the leader of the Liao tribe doesn't accept this?
"Maybe there will be, but certainly not all."
"We all know that Lingnan is a land of southern barbarians, with poverty and hard life."
"If we give them benefits, they will definitely be moved, or they may feel that even if they scold us, we can't control them."
"And there is another point. Not all the leaders of the Lingnan tribe are of the same mind. There will always be people who want to get the benefits and even the protection of our Datang."
Fang Yuan believed.
This time, Cui Zhentang opened his mouth, did not continue to ask, and returned to his seat to sit down.
"Well said!"
"Ideas are worth discussing!"
"Any more, are you finished?"
Li Shimin said happily.
Fang Yuan's thoughts opened up an idea for him.
The imperial court can discuss and improve according to Fang Yuan's ideas.
"And!"
"After the imperial court affirmed their status, they set up counties in their tribes, and the county magistrates were elected by their tribes. They also provided salaries and benefits, but there were conditions, and they had to comply with the imperial court's three-year adjustment policy!"
"In addition, the county magistrates, registrars, and doctors, etc., have been selected from the imperial court for a long time, ten to eight or twenty to thirty years. When the time is right, the county magistrates in Lingnan will be transferred out, and those county magistrates and
The main register goes up."
Fang Yuan continued.
"Any more?"
Li Shimin’s eyes brightened.
According to Fang Yuan's plan, Lingnan will be controlled by Datang.
Moreover, this method can also be applied to other marginal areas.
"Another point is the issue of education that everyone is concerned about. In the future, the imperial court will try not to impose the death penalty. Instead, they will be assigned to Lingnan, who will be responsible for educating the locals. They will make up for their mistakes and have a chance to return!"
Fang Yuan finished speaking.
The above are Fang Yuan’s vague memories of a certain period of history.
Because I didn’t summarize it in advance, it’s a bit rough.
"Okay!"
"Well said!"
"Everyone, what do you think?"
Li Shimin clapped his hands and applauded.
This method is really good, better than what Li Jing, Changsun Wuji, and Fang Xuanling used.
If you follow Fang Yuan's plan, you probably won't need to perfect it before you can get Lingnan.
If he could win Lingnan without a fight, Li Shimin still wanted to control Lingnan very much.
After all, Lingnan is nominally the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and it also has many resources.
"Very good!"
"I think it's okay!"
"What the Chang'an Order said is absolutely true!"
Everyone stood up and expressed their thoughts.
Everyone looked at Fang Yuan, their eyes changed with wonder.
Among those present, Fang Yuan was the youngest, but his insights far surpassed theirs.
I have to admire this, and I even admire the deceased Du Ruhui for his discerning eye.
Fang Yuan smiled, pretending to be embarrassed and saluted Li Shimin, and then saluted everyone.
Now that the limelight is out, there is no need to show pride anymore, it is better to keep a low profile.
"Your Majesty, I think we still need to fight."
"Now the Liao people are rebelling, and they have to be put down before we can implement the strategy of Chang'an Order!"
"Otherwise, the officials will think that our Tang Dynasty is weak, and it will be very difficult to implement it!"
Li Jing suggested after seeing everyone sitting down again.
"What do you think?"
Li Shimin's expression slowly became solemn and he said in a deep voice.
Indeed, war is necessary, after all, there has been a rebellion in Lingnan Road.
If the Tang Dynasty did not even send troops to rebel, how would the people of that country view the Tang Dynasty?
"I think what General Li said is absolutely true!"
Everyone, including Fang Yuan, felt that this battle was necessary.
Only after they are pacified can policies be implemented better and with less help.
"Is there a candidate for general?"
Li Shimin nodded and said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the troops there!"
Li Jing expressed his position immediately and said loudly.
"How can a mere bureaucrat allow General Li to go on an expedition?"
"Your Majesty, if I am willing to go there, the chaos in Lingnan will surely be quelled!"
Hou Junji, the Minister of War, said loudly.
"Your Majesty, General, there may not be a need to make a decision so quickly."
Fang Xuanling stood up and said.
The pacification of Lingnan was a small problem, but the Tang Dynasty was able to pacify it more than ten times.
Because most of the time, the imperial army did not really start a war when they arrived in Lingnan, and the rebellion stopped as soon as they arrived.
Going to Lingnan is like collecting merit, and many people are eyeing this good job.
Fang Yuan also thought of this and wanted to nominate Xue Bowu for the expedition.