Four years ago, there was a large-scale change of officials in various states and counties in Dayuan Prefecture, and it was not limited to one place.
Wei Wenhe's appointment as the magistrate of Heyuan County is just one example.
The reason is that in order to carry out the action of destroying clans and abandoning temples, officials who had old inaction, corruption, and colluded with the clan were either executed or dismissed and demoted, and very few were even transferred.
This is why many people get angry when they mention the action of destroying ancestral ancestry and abandoning temples. The action of destroying ancestral ancestry and abandoning temples was launched four years ago, which can be regarded as a major change in the officialdom!
"What does Colonel Shen think of the destruction of the ancestral temple and the abandonment of the temple?" Yu Ziqi asked again.
Hearing Yu Ziqi's question, Shen Zhui knew that the other party was testing his attitude.
However, he still couldn't figure out what happened to the Nanyang Chief Registrar, and whether he still insisted that destroying the ancestral clan and abandoning the temple was right?
After thinking for a while, Shen Zhui did not answer directly, but said in a deep voice: "Looking at the history books, I found that building temples, conquering foreign lands, and building grand ceremonies are the three major things that the emperor has done since he established the world. This has continued. for nearly eight hundred years.
The latter two are widely praised and praised by people."
Even in the storage rings of masters in the sect world, there are many praises in some ancient books. It is obvious that they respect these two actions of the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
However, the pioneering feat of ‘erecting a temple’ to monitor the world at the top of the list is highly controversial!
Looking through the history books, the comments from people in the sectarian circles are all scolding and accusations. They believe that the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty tied up the people of the world, and there was no freedom and privacy at all.
Four years ago, the great scholar Wei Xuancheng wrote a letter to advise, and the emperor subsequently issued a decree to destroy the sect and abandon the temple.
We want to make princes, generals, ministers, and civilians all subject to the laws of heaven and treat them equally.
This move made people even more criticized. Not only did the sectarian circles criticize him, but there were many different voices within the Zhou Dynasty.
"But Shen Zhui believes that "building a temple" and destroying the ancestral temple and abandoning the temple do not conflict, but are integrated.
The evil gods were destroyed externally, and the evil gods of the clan were united internally, and returned to the ancestral temple, so that the only gods in the world who completely obeyed the laws of nature were the only gods in the world.
From now on, nothing will happen with impunity. This is the ambition of today’s emperor! It is also a supplement to the national policy of opposing the temple!”
Hearing what Shen Zhui said, Yu Ziqi's eyes that had been distracted suddenly burst out with light, staring at Shen Zhui with great concentration.
Shen Zhui didn't pay attention, shook his head and said.
"It's a pity... At present, this move is not going well. It has encountered too much resistance. In less than four years, the Emperor will hastily withdraw this decree."
After staring at Shen Zhui carefully for a while, Yu Ziqi slowly said: "The destruction of the sect and the abandonment of the temple began four years ago. Your Majesty selected a group of scholars from various university palaces, a total of three hundred and twenty Seven people rushed to the three continents of Liang, Qing, and Hebei."
"Either be the county magistrate of a place, or the chief registrar of a county."
"A hundred of them, headed by Wei Wenhe, came to Liangzhou. The purpose is to implement the strategy of destroying the clan and abandoning the temple."
Yu Ziqi raised his hands to the sky and said: "Wenhe's ancestor was Wei Xuancheng, a great scholar of the time. It was he who made the proposal to destroy the sect and abandon the temple."
"So, the more than a hundred princes who came to Liangzhou all took him as their leader, hoping to do something big as soon as possible, firstly to eliminate harm to the people, and secondly to repay the emperor's kindness."
"More than a hundred scholars have taken office, helping each other, and coming with the general trend. Even if they are only seventh-rank officials, they are still a considerable force in the officialdom."
"However, there are hundreds of people with different opinions. Once he actually took office, things changed."
Yu Ziqi looked dazed, as if he was remembering something.
"The situation is different in each county and in different places, and the clan forces entrenched on the enemy are also different in size."
"The resistance of the clan forces makes it very difficult to carry out the destruction of clans and temples."
"Except for external resistance, the ideas of more than a hundred scholars also diverged after they became officials."
"Disagreement?" Shen Zhui was stunned.
Yu Ziqi nodded and said: "The sergeants are unanimous in the general direction of destroying ancestral clans and abandoning temples, but they have great differences on how to implement it."
"Generally speaking, it can be divided into two types."
"One is the radical faction. They act vigorously and swiftly. They quickly kill the powerful men of the major clans and pay a certain price to directly eliminate all the Yin gods."
"The other group is the moderate faction, who are slowly planning to start with the eradication of old criminals, inspecting the properties of various clans, counting the hidden taxes, rectifying the administration, and winning over the people.
As the number of people who believe in the Yin God of the clan decreases, the Yin God will gradually weaken. On the contrary, the power of the government will increase. The most direct manifestation is that the power that the gods can increase will become greater.
When the strength of the major families declines, they will be wiped out in one fell swoop."
Hearing what Yu Ziqi said, a flash of surprise suddenly flashed in Shen Zhui's eyes.
Of course he understood what Yu Ziqi said.
The radical concept can be called a beheading strategy. Killing the strongest clan leaders and clan leaders will of course open up the situation quickly.
As for the price? Shen Zhui also understands that it is a certain degree of civil unrest and rebellion. However, once this happens, the army will inevitably come to suppress it.
The disadvantage of this is that when this policy is first implemented, the backlash of clan forces will definitely be the most intense.
Once chaos breaks out, many innocent people and people who should not have died will be affected.
The second type is exactly what Wei Wenhe did originally.
Divide and win over small families, like boiling frogs in warm water, and fighting one faction after another, this kind of resistance can be reduced several times. The disadvantage is that it takes a long time. It took Wei Wenhe nearly four years to completely control the underworld in Heyuan County. God sweeps away.
"Once differences arise, they will inevitably lead to confrontation." Yu Ziqi sighed slightly.
"Radicals look down on moderates, thinking they are timid and fearful of trouble, or even colluding with local clans."
"The moderates also disagree with the radicals, and the people are complaining. Even if it succeeds in the end, many innocent people will be affected, displaced, and even lose their lives."
"Hundreds of scholars come from Kyoto and unite with each other. They are a big force in the officialdom. Even Dayuan Mansion dares to ignore them. However, once they are scattered, they are just a seventh-grade official!"
"What was the result?" Shen Zhui couldn't help but ask. Although he now knew that the radicals must have failed, he still couldn't help but want to know the inside story.
Yu Ziqi shook his head: "The radicals suffered a major setback in the first year!"
"Thirty-six county magistrates were seriously injured. Seven more county magistrates died unexpectedly. The last reason given by Dayuan Mansion was that they were attacked by demons outside the city and unfortunately died."
"What?" A flash of shock flashed in Shen Zhui's eyes. He had never heard of these things.
"We underestimated the strength of the opposition who destroyed the clan and abandoned the temple, and also underestimated the clan forces." Yu Ziqi sighed.
"Until the second year, in the entire Liangzhou, Nanyang was the only place that successfully accomplished this."
Yu Ziqi looked a little lonely. Although he had cleared away the clan ghosts in Nanyang County early, he didn't feel proud at the moment.
"Although Nanyang was successful, it also offended people. At the beginning of the third year, when there were rumors of revoking the decree, Nanyang County Lord and I were demoted to the Wu'an Army by Dayuan Mansion for abusing our power. , and became an assistant officer in the Si Li Palace."
"For the rest, after losing their strength, it will be difficult for them to get better."
"Now it seems that Wenhe chess is still superior and can see further."
"If the hundreds of scholars could have firmly followed Wenhe and worked hard, they might not have been able to wipe out all the evil spirits in Liangzhou." Yu Ziqi sighed. "How could it be like now, even in the army? …”
So that’s it…
Only then did Shen Zhui understand why Yu Ziqi was only at the middle level of Lingqiao and his aura was not stable.
The cultivation of civil servants is closely related to their official positions. Once they are demoted, it is like pulling out the fuel from the bottom of the cauldron, and their cultivation plummets.
If you want to stabilize your realm and improve on your own, it will be countless times more difficult than before.
In the vigorous action of this group of scholars, everyone failed, but Nanyang succeeded.
With such clever tactics and methods, it would probably be even more remarkable if Yu Ziqi was promoted.
Those who object will of course have to force Yu Ziqi away.
As for why Yu Ziqi did so poorly...
First of all, Yu Ziqi was good at writing but not at martial arts.
Secondly, as the decree of destroying ancestral clans and abandoning temples was about to be revoked, the wealthy clans, princes and nobles once again gained the upper hand. It must have been someone secretly saying hello, which caused Yu Ziqi to have a difficult life in the army. In the past two years, Time and cultivation have not recovered, but there are signs of decline.
The only one with such strength is probably the aloof Prince Liang Mansion.
"Sir, don't worry." Shen Zhui comforted. "The general trend is like this. Even if it were to happen again and there were no differences at the beginning, Mr. Wei may not be able to turn the tide."
If the Liang Prince's Mansion does not fall, it may not be able to help the situation in the end. Moreover, the time is too short. No matter how defiant Wei Wenhe is, he may not be able to control the entire situation in Liangzhou.
After a pause, Shen Zhui continued: "Sir, are you still serving in the Hall of Ceremony now?"
Yu Ziqi shook his head and said, "No longer."
Just when Shen Zhui wanted to ask again, Wang Long suddenly sent a message.
"Colonel Shen, Master Yu was deceived by people from the Liang Wang lineage as early as half a year ago. Now, he only has the title of military general and is the leader of the vanguard."
"He has no station in Wanfeng City and has very few soldiers under his command. In order to avoid disaster, he has to stay in this border town of Canglan River. Earlier, he had the previous Nanyang County Honorary with him. Four months ago ...Unfortunately, he died on the battlefield outside Fang."
"Colonel Shen, Mr. Ziqi is both wise and brave, but he has to fall to this point due to the general situation. My junior brother once said that among the hundreds of scholars in Liangzhou, only Yu Ziqi can sit down and talk with him!"
"I understand." Shen Zhui listened calmly.
Wang Long wanted him to take Yu Ziqi in, and since Yu Ziqi agreed to Wang Long coming to see him, of course he also wanted to take refuge.
In the past, Shen Zhui would have been unable to protect himself, and people like Yu Ziqi, no matter how desperate they were, would not come to seek refuge with him, but that was not the case now.
Shen Zhui is now a school captain, and will soon decide on a title to become a school captain. During the battle at Canglan River, Shen Zhui's reputation has already spread to the outside world.
A genius with promising magical powers and a title of captain would certainly have enough capital to attract a troubled Qianlong like Yu Ziqi to seek refuge with him.
Since Yu Ziqi was able to chat with him so much just now and asked him about his views on destroying sects and abandoning temples, there shouldn't be much hindrance in recruiting him.
Otherwise, Yu Ziqi would probably have left long ago if he didn't talk much about speculation.
Thinking of this, Shen Zhui stood up from his chair, came to Yu Ziqi, and bowed.
Yu Ziqi's expression was as usual, as if he had expected this scene, and he slowly said, "What does Captain Shen mean by this?"
"Sir, you are a great talent, but Shen Zhui is shameless. I would like to ask you to stay by my side and ask for your help at all times."
"This is Wu'an Army, a place outside the country. What can I do to help the captain?" Yu Ziqi laughed at himself: "I am only an intermediate level Lingqiao now, and the meridians in my body are intermittent. Even those with slightly stronger abilities can't help me." You can't even defeat Lingqiao at the elementary level. If your combat power is not as good as that of a school captain, I'm afraid it will be useless to a school captain."
Shen Zhui still kept bowing and said sincerely: "Shen Zhui is confident that he can help you recover. Besides, your talent lies in planning rather than force. If you can get help from me, it will be like adding wings to a tiger!"
"I once offended the Crown Prince of Liang and beheaded one of his cronies. Do you understand the meaning?" Yu Ziqi asked again.
"What you did, sir, was to eliminate evil and promote good. It was very clever. I also offended a titled school captain for destroying the clan gods. He was from Prince Liang's palace. Sir and I, it's true, it's true... …Like-minded.”
When Yu Ziqi heard Shen Zhui describe it like this, he couldn't help but smile.
Of course he knew about the feud between Shen Zhui and Li Chengfeng, but before he came, he didn't associate the little catcher in Heyuan County with the current titled captain.
Until the conversation just now, I completely believed this.
Before coming, Yu Ziqi used the Lianshan Yi to divine a hexagram, and the hexagram said that there is a noble person above the white clouds.
However, is the young man in front of me really his noble person?
Yu Ziqi was a little hesitant.
He is now in such a state of desolation. Two years have passed and he is still alive and well. The people in Prince Liang's Mansion may not have the intention to kill him to death.
Once you stand on Shen Zhui's side, you will inevitably re-enter the sight of Prince Liang's Mansion. The danger is self-evident.
But how could he be willing to do so? How could he be content with just living?
At this moment, Shen Zhui spoke again.
"Sir, he was very kind to Shen Zhui with his guidance back then. If he is willing to stay, Shen Zhui should treat him as a teacher."
When Yu Ziqi heard this, his face moved slightly.
And at this moment, he also had a clear understanding in his heart that if he missed this opportunity, it would be difficult for him to make a comeback in the future.
With a slight sigh in his heart, Yu Ziqi's eyes became firm.
He stepped up from the chair and helped Shen Zhui up. When Shen Zhui stood up straight, he slowly bent over and bowed his head to the ground.