Chapter 217 Birds choose good trees

The next morning, Li Qing'an continued to march south again. Two days later, his team arrived in Gushu County, where the drought was the most serious.

Before entering Gushu County, Li Qing'an had learned about some of the situation in Gushu County from many channels. Just from drought, the disasters in Gushu County are no different from other areas of Henan Road, and are far from the point where the people cannot make a living and must rebel.

The key is man-made disasters. The land of Kumai is fertile, and the two major rivers of Bian River and Huan River flow through. There are many tributaries between the two rivers. In addition, the climate is suitable, which has been a major grain-producing county since ancient times. More than 70% of the land in Kumai County has become a manor, and only about 30% of the self-cultivated farmers. Among the major manors, King Qing Li Cong owns four large manors, totaling 500 hectares of land.

Greed is the common feature of these powerful nobles. They never thought that their land and money were enough, nor did they consider whether the Tang Dynasty would destroy the country because of this. Perhaps in their opinion, the Tang Dynasty was so rich that it was nothing to take a little bit of it. Besides, if it didn't take it, others would take it away. Therefore, greed blinded their conscience. They were drunk today, even if it was turbulent tomorrow.

When the drought in Henan came, it seemed like the gathering call for land annexation. The powerful princes and princes in Chang'an, the wealthy families in the local area, the great gods and witches all extended their greedy hands to the fertile land of Henan Road, using their own means and using their own ways. The purpose is to take the land for themselves during the disaster year. Gushu County is an extreme example.

Li Cong's four large manors in Gushu County were not connected. In order to connect these four large manors into one, Li Cong used this drought to acquire land, involving nearly 20,000 mu of land and more than 1,200 families. He adopted violent expulsion and the government's coercion. He used hundreds of servants to beat the owners who drove the land with sticks, demolished their houses, and forced them to sell land at extremely low prices. At the same time, the government cooperated with them to pay the tax grain accumulated by the farmers, cut off the road, and did not allow merchants to come to sell rice, strictly prohibit the wealthy households from providing relief porridge, and used various means to force farmers to leave their homes and go into exile. As long as the farmers leave their homes, the land immediately becomes a homeless land, and the government confiscates and auctions. There is only one buyer. In just two months, King Qing occupied more than 10,000 acres of land.

The riots of farmers originated from dissatisfaction with the government. When the imperial relief order was issued, all counties began to open warehouses and provide relief porridge one after another. However, Gushu County not only did not open warehouses, but instead forced farmers to pay taxes. When the news of opening warehouses and releasing grains in other counties reached Gushu County, the canal workers and farmers were both angry. They rushed into the government warehouse, but found that there was no grain in the government warehouse. The angry people burned the government warehouse and smashed the government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government government

Li Qing'an did not know the truth until he entered Gushu County. That afternoon, Li Qing'an led a large group of troops to Gushu Military Mansion, located twenty miles west of the county town.

This is his question. What role did the army play in this riot? Gushu Military Mansion is the Shang Mansion, with 1,200 soldiers, but what Li Qing'an saw was a dilapidated military camp. Half of the fences were gone, the guard tower had collapsed, and the wine shops that had originally been born with the military camp also became empty. Most of them had collapsed, and were covered with artemisia that was tall. It can be seen that it had been abandoned for at least ten years.

Li Qing'an's face was extremely gloomy. He never dared to imagine that the Central Plains military palace was so dilapidated. The militia stayed outside the military camp. He led a hundred personal guards to ride into the military camp. The military camp was not allowed to ride, but they could not dismount and were covered with artemisia all the way.

Although the military palace has been dilapidated, the original grand occasion can still be seen. There are nearly a hundred long square rooms in three rows, including dining halls, ordnance houses, warehouses, and study rooms, flat and spacious racecourses and training grounds, rusted arrows are inserted on the stacks, and there are even two spears on the knife and gun stands, but one person is not seen.

"Who are you? How dare you ride into the military camp!" A vicious voice suddenly came from behind them.

When Li Qingan turned around, he saw a man in his thirties standing twenty steps behind them. To be precise, he was an officer with a burly figure and a little hunched back. The man had a half-white hair, a huge rosacea nose, wearing a thin scale armor, a horizontal knife hanging on his butt, and a wine pot in his hand, staring at him sideways.

"Who are you?" Li Qing'an asked him back: "Are you an officer here?"

The officer seemed to be a little sensible. Seeing that although the person coming was not a soldier, he was tall and stern, with a cold look, a sword on his waist, and a archer on his back. Especially when the horses they rode were all strong and majestic horses, he knew that the group of people was not small, so he immediately put away his wild attitude and replied respectfully: "I am the commander of Guoyi here, and my name is Cui You. Who is your lord?"

Li Qing'an nodded and said, "I used to be the governor of Beiting, but now I am the inspector of Henan Road."

"So you are Li Qing'an!"

The officer was startled, and he hurried forward, half-kneeled and saluted, "I am not good at judging by Cui You, see the champion general."

Seeing that he knew him well, Li Qingan turned over and got off the horse and said with a smile: "Find a place! I have something to ask you."

"Please follow me, General!"

Cui You led Li Qing'an into a room. The room was filled with a strong smell of alcohol. The dried beans on the table were moldy. Cui You pushed the dishes to the ground with a thrust, and kicked all the wine pots to the corner of the wall with his feet, wiped the cushion with his sleeves, and smiled and said, "Please sit down, General!"

Li Qing'an sat down, looked at the room, and called out that there were more than a dozen books on the windowsill, then nodded and asked him, "You should know what I want to ask? Why is this military mansion so dilapidated?"

Cui You smiled bitterly and said, "General, please ask me knowingly! Aren't the military palaces in the Central Plains like this?"

Li Qingan shook his head and said, "It should not be like this. There are still 70% of the military government in Yangzhou and 50% of the military government in Xiangzhou. No one runs away like you."

"Yes! Two months ago, we still had two hundred soldiers here, but after King Qing occupied the land, all the two hundred soldiers ran away. Ma Duwei took more than a dozen lieutenants and brigade commanders to Hebei to surrender to An Lushan. Now I am the only one left in the military camp."

Cui You's tone was filled with sadness, "I joined the army in the 16th year of Kaiyuan. My family had twenty acres of land, so I had to join the army. There was no way. If I didn't join the army, the land would be confiscated by the government. At that time, there were seven hundred brothers in the military camp, all like me, and they had land at home, so they had to join the army. In the 24th year of Kaiyuan, Gushu County had a severe drought. King Qing took the opportunity to acquire more than 20,000 acres of land at a low price, which triggered a wave of escape from the military government. Three hundred soldiers ran away overnight, and the land was gone. Who would still be willing to join the army for nothing? Later, there were deserters every year. Until the beginning of this year, there were still 225 soldiers left, which was similar to other military governments. As a result, King Qing once again took advantage of the drought to acquire land, causing riots among the people. The father and brothers ran over and shouted, not only all the soldiers ran away, but most of the officers also escaped, and all the weapons were taken away by them."

Speaking of this, Cui You sighed and said, "I heard that the army in Chang'an has almost run away. If you want to fight, you can only rely on temporary recruitment of troops, but the generals at the border all have heavy troops. Once they rebel, I don't know what army the imperial court will use to fight against them. The Tang Dynasty looks strong on the outside, but it is all hollowed out by borers. It's worrying!"

Li Qing'an's heart was filled with bitterness. When he later talked about the cause of the Anshi Rebellion, some said that Li Longji's incompetence was the country's incompetence, some said that Li Linfu's domineering power, some said that Yang Guozhong's incompetence, and even said that Yang Guifei's charm and confusion were the country. But today he realized that the fundamental reason was land annexation, which was the large-scale annexation of land by powerful officials regardless of the lives of the people, turning the equal-field system of the Tang Dynasty into a farmland system, causing the Tang Dynasty's military system to collapse.

It is true that there are many accidental factors for An Lushan's rebellion, such as Li Linfu's indulgence and Yang Guozhong's forced force, but the situation where the army is more important than the outside but less than the inside will inevitably lead to a large-scale rebellion. Even without An Lushan, there will be Li Lushan and Wang Lushan, and the later separatist rule of the vassal states are typical examples.

The greatest responsibility of Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty was to indulge land annexation, and to issue several edicts that were not allowed without any practical measures, but who would not allow land annexation, but who would pay attention to him? Didn’t he know that his son had occupied the land? King Qing’s Yongye land was only 10,000 acres, but among the various birthday gifts he gave to the Yang family, Li Longji ignored such an obvious fact. This shows that his indulgence was shrewd in dealing with people, but he was extremely foolish in governing the country and ensuring people’s livelihood.

Li Qingan didn't want to ask any more, so he stood up and smiled and said, "Cui You, I see that although you are greedy, your heart is clear. Are you willing to give up this useless official and follow me?"

Cui You immediately knelt down on one knee and said, "We are also a serious crime for all the soldiers, so Ma Duwei escaped. If I don't leave, the death penalty will fall on me. I originally planned to go to An Lushan, but it was included by General. I admire the general for a long time and am willing to follow the general."

Li Qing'an nodded and smiled, "Okay! If you change your name, Cui You will no longer exist from now on."

"I originally named Cui Qianyou, but later I changed my name to Cui You. From today on, I am willing to serve the general!"

'Cui Qianyou!' Li Qing'an felt that this name seemed a bit familiar, as if it was a famous general in the middle Tang Dynasty. He thought for a moment and suddenly remembered that the general under An Lushan who defeated Ge Shuhan's 400,000 troops in Tongguan was Cui Qianyou? He was overjoyed and hurriedly said: "Put it out, let's go with me!"

After walking around the military camp, he unexpectedly got a capable general. Li Qing'an's mood improved again. Walking on the road, he asked Cui Qianyou: "You have been local for a long time, do you know what is the best way to calm the rebels?"

Cui Qianyou smiled and said, "If you want to plan your jade, you will know your nature. The people of Gu Shu are not rebelling. That is the false accusation of Cui Tai, who demonized them. In fact, they fled into the mountains to hide because they burned the granary and were afraid of revenge by the government. So the general should not say the word "calm!", so how should they be told to let them return to their home?"

"Then how do you think they should return to their home?" Li Qingan said with a smile again.

"Get trust from them!"

"How to win the trust?"

"It's very simple. Kill the evil people, send the heads into the mountain, and return the land to them. They will naturally go out of the mountain and go home. It depends on whether the general has the courage."

Li Qingan smiled and said, "I have this courage. Does General Cui have the courage to go into the mountain for me?"

"If the general has courage, I will have courage!"

The two looked at each other and started laughing together.

Since the observation of Li Qing'an entering Songzhou, the prefect Cui Lian was in a state of anxiety. Compared with Wu Qing of Bianzhou who had sorted out the problems in time, Cui Lian's Songzhou problem seemed much more difficult. Since Li Qing'an was transferred to Henan Road Observation Envoy, Cui Lian began to clean up the problem of wealthy families under his rule taking advantage of the disaster to occupy land. Most of the encroachment of land has been stopped, and a lot of the encroachment of land has been returned to farmers.

But there were two difficult things that he could not solve. One was that Xiangyi County asked the emperor's daughter to occupy the land, which involved his sister-in-law and brother. The relationship was not solved. Moreover, the Xiangyi County Lord was tough and refused to withdraw the land. The eldest brother Cui Qiao was also ambiguous, hoping that he could use skillful means to cover up the matter. Secondly, King Qing occupied the land in Gushu County, which made him feel even more troubled. King Qing had forced the people to rebel and refused to give in. The five hundred clans hid in the city of Songzhou and refused to leave.

Cui Lian was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He already knew what happened in Xiangyi County. According to reports, Li Qing'an searched all the land deeds and the contract to force the land purchase. Thinking of the possible consequences, Cui Lian was shuddered. Now he was most afraid that Li Qing'an would come to find him. At this time, the yamen runners came to report that Yang Sima was back. Cui Lian was like catching a life-saving straw and said repeatedly: "Please please! Please!"

After a moment, Sima Yang Runing walked in quickly and bowed: "See the envoy!"

"Don't be polite, let's talk about the situation in Bianzhou."

"I'm afraid the situation is not good for us."

Yang Runing sighed and said, "King Di sent Shao Ziping to solve the problem of land compensation. He was very capable. In just three days, he not only returned all the land to the farmers, but each family also gave another 5-cent of quarantine fees and promised to purchase 100,000 stones of rice to provide disaster relief in Bianzhou. Now everyone praises King Di's kindness and virtue, and solves the problem of King Di's affairs. Now Wu Qing is investigating the land occupation on a large scale, and organizes Deli's troops to dig wells to fight drought. The envoy, Bianzhou has basically gotten out of trouble. Xuzhou and Huazhou are also cleaning up the land occupation problem. Everyone is afraid of Li Qing'an."

Cui Lian stood there for a while and sat down with exhaustion. He thought that the law would not blame the public, but now the only problem in Songzhou is the most serious. But Li Qing'an is in Songzhou. What should I do? Sweat oozed out from Cui Lian's forehead, and he felt that this time he might not be able to escape the blame.

"The envoy, now I can only ask for self-protection."

Yang Runing's suggestion seemed to ring a bell in Cui Lian's ear. He woke up and asked quickly: "Then, where is my self-protection plan?"

"I suggest that the envoy might as well talk to Li Qing'an. I found that although this person is cruel and ruthless, he also pays great attention to strategies. For example, if a matter of such a big deal of canal, no one can bear it. But he actually let Wu Qing go and goes straight to Songzhou. It can be seen that he is targeting Songzhou. What is the reason for Songzhou that makes him so interested? King Qing, maybe now adds another Cui Shangshu, the envoy, he is overturning the verdict for the princelings! As long as we understand this, we can cooperate with him."

"Do you want me to be betrayed by my elder brother? And King Qing, do I dare to offend him?"

Seeing that Cui Lian was still stubborn, Yang Runing advised: "If you protect them again, they may use you as a scapegoat. They just say that everything is unaware of it. The emperor cannot catch his subordinates! Both cases fall on you. Who do you think the emperor will not arrest you? Besides, offending Cui Shangshu is to save the reputation of the Cui family and have the reputation of destroying relatives for justice. The Cui family is grateful to you. If you offend King Qing, the envoy can also defect to other princes. It is better than being unable to escape the blame now!"

Cui Lian covered his head and sighed for a while, "Let me think about it again, think about it again!"

Li Qing'an only spent half a day in Gushu County to investigate the fact that King Qing Li Cong occupied the land in Gushu County. The matter was very clear, and it was not like the Lord of Xiangyi County who occupied the land in the name of the deacon Tian Yi. The contract was clearly written clearly that the land was bought by King Qing, which shows that King Qing was arrogant and did not have any fear at all.

Li Qingan was also quite surprised by the fear of King Qing Li Cong. If it was February, he could understand what Li Cong did, but it was the end of May, and a major change in the deposed prince broke out in Chang'an. As the eldest son, Li Cong had the possibility of entering the Eastern Palace. At this critical moment, how could he dare to merge land on a large scale? For example, King Di immediately changed his course and sent the most capable hands to change his bad records.

But King Qing didn't make any noise at all. Did he understand? This is impossible. If he didn't even understand this, he would fight for the position of prince. The only explanation is that King Qing himself did not know about this. It was his subordinates who did it without authorization. If it was really his subordinates, then his subordinates could actually mobilize 500 servants to come and steal the land, which shows how large the scale of Li Cong's manor was.

But no matter whether it was done by King Qing or his subordinates, he had to fight this tiger in Gushu County. It was a good thing to attack King Qing to enter the Eastern Palace, for the country, the people and themselves.

That afternoon, Li Qing'an arrived in Dong'an Town, less than ten miles from Songzhou City. At this time, news came from the front that Songzhou Prefect Cui Lian asked to see him.

In the Dong'an tavern, Li Qing'an sat opposite Cui Lian. Li Qing'an poured him a glass of wine and said with a smile: "Sizhou Prefect Cui Ping is the nephew of Cui!"

"He is the son of my brother and became the prefect of Sizhou at a young age. Thanks to the recommendation of Li Envoy."

"This has nothing to do with me. Cui Ping was young and promising. He heard that he wanted to transfer to Huzhou south, but the people of Sizhou refused to let him leave. He jointly wrote to the court to ask him to stay. He only worked for less than three years and was so popular that people admired him!"

Cui Lian's face turned slightly red. He heard that Li Qing'an was implicitly mocking him as an official and was not popular with the people. He couldn't help but smile bitterly: "It's difficult for us local officials. We subordinates should appease the people and the superiors should deal with the powerful and powerful. If we are not careful, we will be impeached by the censor. Although Cui Lian, I, did not have political achievements, have no bad reputation. We just want to be fine."

"Can Taishou really do nothing wrong? If Taishou Cui has nothing wrong, how could thousands of people in Gushu County burn warehouses and destroy yamen? How could this Taishou Cui explain?"

"That was done by King Qing. I want to take care of it but I can't afford to offend me. What should you do if you ask me to do?"

"Hehe! This is why Prefect Cui puts the cart before the horse. He is afraid of offending King Qing, so he lets him enclose his land? Does Prefect Cui know what is the biggest crisis in my Tang Dynasty?"

“Land Annexation!”

"Yes! It is land annexation. Land annexation leads to the corruption of the military system and financial exhaustion. If you let it go, it will sooner or later lead to the demise of the Tang Dynasty. Cui Taishou knew the harm and indulged in the enclosure of land in order to protect his own official hat. However, now Cui Taishou's official hat cannot be preserved, but he will also be guilty of the Tang Dynasty. Cui Taishou, don't let future historians write the root of the demise of the Tang Dynasty, and mention Cui Taishou's demise. Cui Lian is not honest, that would be a detriment for thousands of years."
Chapter completed!