The next day, as expected, several guardsmen did not return to their guard posts in time, but ran to Xia Xun to intercede for Shen Yong.
There are different methods of pleading. Some people go straight, while others beat around the bush. The core meaning is actually only one, please Governor Yang to let Shen Dusi go. The one who is speaking now is Wei Chunbing, the Dusi of Shenyang Zhongwei. Wei Dusi is very skillful in speaking. He rambled on for a long time, never directly begging for Shen Yong's mercy, but he was begging for Shen Yong's every word.
Wei Dusi only cares about how complicated the situation in Liaodong is; the Jurchen tribes sometimes tame and sometimes cause trouble, how difficult it is to deal with such unruly people; He also said that Shen Yong has been in charge of military affairs in Liaodong for many years, and he is still diligent in ruling the guards, and there is hard work even without credit. , The Duke of Guo wants to end the affairs in Liaodong as soon as possible and return to Jinling, the prosperous place of the Six Dynasties, to enjoy peace and happiness. With his help, he can get twice the result with half the effort.
Finally, he said that the people in Kaiyuan City were mainly composed of Han Chinese who had been exiled by criminals, as well as Jurchen and Japanese tribes who had surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. The implication was that the people there were either aliens or scum, and there was no need to risk their lives for them. Therefore, it was understandable that Shen Dusi did not send troops. Xia Xun just listened with a smile and never said a word. Wei Dusi felt bored after talking about it, so he had to stop talking, and left sadly.
"Wei Chunbing, Shenyang Central Guard."
Xia Xun opened a booklet and wrote down the name of Wei Dusi and the guard station where he was located. Anyone who interceded for Shen Yong had an unusual relationship with Shen Yong. He had to investigate these people carefully before deciding how to deal with them. .
Just as he closed the booklet, the guard came in and announced: "Reporting to your lord, the commander of the Thirty Thousand Guards, Pei Shitmul, and the commander of the Tieling Guards, Qing Geer Tai, are asking for an audience.
"Oh, please invite them in!"
After a while, two big men walked in from the outside. Both were tall and tall, with obvious bow legs. At first glance, they looked like men who had grown up on horses. When they saw Xia Xun, they immediately crossed their arms and greeted Xia Xun. , with a thunderous voice: "The humble Pei Shitmul (Qinggeertai) pays homage to the Lord of the Ministry!"
Xia Xun stood up and said with a smile: "You two are here, do you have anything to say to me?"
Peishtmur hugged his fist and said in a deep voice: "Mindu, I don't know which of the adults spoke uprightly and impeached Shen Yong to the emperor. I originally wanted to file a complaint, but I couldn't find a way. Now, I don't know how. Since Lord Tang is here, that's good. I am willing to bear witness because of my humble position. Please also ask the Ministry to enforce the law impartially and punish Shen Yong severely!
To be honest, the people of that tribe, who were humbled by their posts, were about to fall out because of this matter. They all said that since the imperial court accepted us as citizens of the Ming Dynasty, why did it only ask for mink skin, ginseng, and all kinds of taxes? Foreign enemies invaded, killed my parents, raped my sisters, but the imperial troops turned a deaf ear? The humble position has been suppressing the people of the clan, but if this continues, I am afraid that the humble position will not be able to suppress it anymore!"
Xia Xun smiled faintly and said: "Military disciplines are strict and military laws are strict! Be clear first, then be strict. If something should be dealt with, I will naturally deal with it. This time I went to Kaiyuan in person. My purpose is to get the most direct evidence. If the evidence is complete, Shen Yong will be punished. If the evidence is incomplete, you will not kill the minister just because your people are angry and unjust. The governor's sword can ward off foreigners and kill sycophants, but it can't cut down bandits? "
Xia Xun also sympathizes with Temuer's experience, and admires his military exploits in holding on to Kaiyuan. Xia Xun can also understand what he said when he came to see him today. But none of this means that
Without principled tolerance, he was here to represent the imperial court, so how could he allow his subordinates to threaten him? There was a hidden knife in Temuer's words, and Xia Xun immediately retaliated. Temuer's face turned red from what he said.
But he didn't dare to break out.
When Qing Geertai saw this, he quickly smoothed things over and said, "Your Majesty was ordered to patrol Liaodong and to be the governor of military affairs. Now that he knows about this matter, he must deal with it. Temuer, I know that your son-in-law was killed.
My eldest daughter was kidnapped, and I feel very angry and anxious in my heart, but the laws and rules of the court cannot be messed up. Just wait patiently for this matter, and the minister will always give you justice."
Qinggeertai was a Japanese man. After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, his father led his tribe to defect to the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang placed him near Tieling, set up Tieling Guards, and appointed his father as the commander of the guards. Now the son has inherited his father's position and is the current
The commander of the Tieling Guards. Like Temur, he was also ostracized by other guard generals, so he and Temur had the same problem and had a good friendship.
Qing Geertai comforted Temuer, then gave Xia Xun a fist, and said respectfully: "Temuer is feeling worried and angry, and his tone is a little harsh. Please don't blame me. Lord Butang is going to Kaiyuan, and I will go to Kaiyuan."
Temuer is on the same journey with Lord Boutang, and he came to see you now because he wanted to escort him to Kaiyuan."
Xia Xun smiled and said: "Okay, then let's go together!"
There are no civil servants in Liaodong. In the entire Liaodong, the military, political and judicial departments are all under the responsibility of the army. This is a vast military area, and Shen Yong is the commander-in-chief of Liaodong and is the de facto local emperor here.
Liaodong has 25 guards, 150,000 troops, so many generals, 30,000 guards were attacked, Shen Yong saw the flames of war and did not move, Temuer repeatedly called for troops but did not go out, if not for Shaoyunfeng, the imperial envoy of Liaodong Road,
A secret report was made, but the court knew nothing about it. It can be seen that even if the Liaodong region cannot be said to be corrupted by the protection of officials, at least it is Shen Yong who covers the sky with one hand.
In such an environment, is it possible to achieve long-term peace and stability by just dealing with one Shen Yong? Therefore, the treatment of Shen Yong cannot be as hasty as the Guanhaiwei commander Chang Xiwen. Officials have factions, and Xia Xun wants to use Shen Yong as bait
, to understand who belongs to his faction, and then focus on investigating these officials, and try to win over those who are still useful, while those who are corrupt or stubborn will have to be punished.
Xia Xun and many people who want to do great things actually use the same method. If you want to do great things, you must first rectify the government. Because you are aloof, even if you have all kinds of tricks, if you want to implement your ideas, you have to rely on those below you.
Officials, they are not strong enough, and you can't show off your great abilities. Xia Xun kept Shen Yong temporarily without killing him, because he regarded him as a mirror to thoroughly investigate all kinds of corruption and maladministration, and to show the interests and needs of all parties.
the touchstone.
Now, his basic goal has been achieved.
Since Xia Xun wanted to move to Kaiyuan, he had to be accompanied by a large number of officials from the capital commander's yamen who were stationed in Liaoyang. Zhang Jun, the commander-in-chief, Shaoyunfeng, the imperial envoy of Liaodong Road in Liaoyang, and others followed, and they took Ding away from Liaoyang.
A guard and horse of Ding Yu, the left guard of Liao Dynasty, together with 50,000 officers and soldiers brought by Xia Xun from the pass, rushed to Kaiyuan in a mighty manner.
Xia Xun did not ride in a car. He rode on a horse and went forward with the generals. Because there were still a large number of infantry, the team did not move very fast. Fortunately, the two places were not very far away, and they would definitely be able to arrive before nightfall.
After marching for more than two hours, Xia Xun ordered the whole army to rest for a while. He led the generals up the high slope, took a look, and couldn't help but sigh: "It's rare to see a town along the way, and it's rare to see a few.
Pedestrian!"
When Xia Xun was in later generations, the most troublesome thing was that no matter where he went, there were bustling crowds. They were just rubbing shoulders with each other and waving their sleeves. But now... after walking for more than two hours, it makes people feel panicked.
It's a barren mountain and wild land, where is there any human habitation?
"yes!
Zhang Jun said: "The population in Liaodong has always been sparse. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the entire Liaodong had only a population of more than 500,000. Later, the Red Scarf Army marched north to Liaodong and fought with the Yuan army here for four years. Liaodong was in ruins and many people
They all fled to Korea with their families. After the Yuan army was defeated, many people were forced to flee north with them, and the population here was even smaller. When the Ming Dynasty took over Liaodong, all the people of all ethnic groups in Liaodong were added together.
Less than 100,000 people!”
Xia Xun felt a little cold after hearing this. He wanted to do something big in Liaodong. Everything could be lacking, but people were indispensable. In this era, people are the primary productive force. If there are no people here, there will be nothing.
, nothing could be done, and he asked with a glimmer of hope: "That's it? Well...it has been more than thirty years since the founding of the country, and Liaodong has been recuperating for thirty years, so it should have grown significantly, right?"
Zhang Jun smiled dryly and said: "Almost...still 100,000..."
Xia Xun almost fell off his horse, and he cried out: "Why is it still one hundred thousand? In more than thirty years, the people of Liaodong have been able to reproduce for two generations! Didn't they have children thirty years ago?
"
Zhang Jundao: "I don't know something about the ministry. At the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizu Gao made it difficult to manage the people who had surrendered outside the customs and those who had not surrendered. In order to strengthen the walls and clear the country to prevent the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty from invading the south, he made a special plan to the north of Beiping Prefecture.
All the residents in the Shanhou area (from Xuanfu to Liaoyang) moved south to Shanhaiguan.
Three times before and after, a total of 85,000 households were relocated. Fortunately, the people in Liaodong have multiplied and lived in these years, and more people have been born. Otherwise, there would be no common people here. Even so, in terms of Liaoyang, Liaoyang is
The seat of our Liaodong Dusi, an important place for setting up troops and garrisoning, is still vast and sparsely populated, and is in danger of overcrowding. Not to mention other places, Ningyuan is as empty as a wilderness, Kaiyuan, Tieling, and Fengcheng have very few residents.
, the grass stream is like a mountain forest and a wild meadow, and there are few pedestrians on the road."
After Xia Xun heard this, his heart suddenly became cold.
Zhang Jun continued: "Nowadays, there are about 100,000 people in Liaodong, four-fifths of whom are Han people, and the rest are Japanese and Jurchens who have surrendered to our dynasty. A small number of Han people are exiled outside the customs.
Most of the prisoners are officers, and most of the rest are family members of soldiers. However, life outside the Great Wall is difficult and the climate is cold in winter. Soldiers and their families are often uneasy where they live.
Furthermore, 80% of the troops stationed outside the Great Wall were responsible for guarding the border, and 20% were responsible for farming and growing grain. The farming fields were all official land owned by the imperial court. The soldiers in the farming fields were holding hoes and worked hard, and there was not much left in the harvest except for the grain they paid.
Therefore, the soldiers responsible for farming were actually more miserable than the tenants of the landlord's family, so they had no intention of farming. Even though the imperial household registration was strict, there were still soldiers who kept fleeing with their families.
Even if they cannot return to their hometown, they would rather escape from the barracks, find a valley and wild land, and live in a different place than suffer in the army. Some even simply fled to the Jurchen and Japanese tribes.
"It is better to live in the Hu than to be born in the Liao". Alas, Emperor Taizu Gao stationed in the fields to raise troops. His original intention was not to disturb the people, but who knew it would have such a result!"
"There is no one in such a hellish place, and there is no way to keep someone alive! Without people, what else can be done?" Xia Xun was heartbroken after hearing this. He had never thought that the situation in Liaodong would be worse than before.
What he imagined was even more serious. This seriousness did not come from the outside, but from the inside. Among the materials he came into contact with, the part about the people was also the least, which also shows how little attention Liaodong paid to the people.
Externally there is the Tatar crisis, internally there is conflict between the Han people and the Tatars, and the Jurchens, there are struggles between different factions within the Han people, and there are irreconcilable conflicts between the people and the court. If you want to do something, you still have to rely on manpower.
The limitations in many aspects of material resources are really terrible. Who can manage such a mess?
Xia Xun wished he could just drive away, hastily settle the matter in Liaodong, and then go back to accompany his wife and hold his baby. In the world a few hundred years later... My bones are all rotten, so what if there is a flood?
However, he did not move in the end. He just rode his horse and stood on the high slope for a long time without saying a word.
p: Is the situation Xia Xun is facing complicated enough? If any of you book friends have any suggestions for Xiao He or Zhang Liang, please submit them as soon as possible. If you can’t come up with any good suggestions, please submit one of the *** recommendations. ^_^