Tao Yuanming's eyes were bright, and there was a hint of excitement in the tone of his words: "Actually, the reason why we are so dependent on these powerful landlords is the same whether it is Wu or Jiangzhou. The difference lies in the power of Wu."
Most of the landowners are from high-ranking families. They are high-ranking nobles who control knowledge and culture. However, many of the powerful landowners in Jiangzhou and Jingzhou were born in the military and obtained land through military merit. After returning to their hometowns, they became more and more powerful.
, become a local leader.”
"But whether they are nobles or veterans, they have now formed forces in their respective places, so we can only rely on them to take care of the grassroots temporarily. After each official takes office, from the state governor, county guard to county magistrate, all
We can only cooperate with these local snakes and give them official positions so that they can legally take charge of the people in each township and village. Liu Pushe, wasn't Marshal Liu like this when he was upright in Jingkou."
Liu Muzhi said calmly: "That's different. Marshal Liu was a young man with a sense of justice when he was in Jingkou. He didn't become an official because of his ancestors' influence. In fact, Marshal Liu's father died when he was five years old.
, did not help him at all. It was Liu Pushe who liked martial arts since childhood and helped others with justice, which earned him the respect of the villagers. Later, when there was a threat from external forces, he was able to unite and lead the villagers to jointly defend their homeland.
It has been followed by more and more people.”
Tao Yuanming smiled slightly: "These powerful landlords are the same everywhere. Aren't these local snakes in Jiangzhou also entangled in every village and township? Aren't they also able to organize the villagers when there are external forces?
Do they rise up to resist? This is not fundamentally different from Liu Pushe. Therefore, if we forcefully eradicate these forces with the crime of treason, can we now replace them immediately and manage them well?
Where are the people in these places and villages?"
The fat on Liu Muzhi's face swayed slightly, and his eyes were squeezed into slits. Obviously, he could not give a direct answer to this question.
Tao Yuanming looked around and said in a deep voice: "Generals and civil servants, you are only responsible for fighting wars and suppressing rebellions. Then wherever you go, you need local officials or gentry to provide military supplies. You don't care what happens after the war is over. But as a
Local officials, these are the things that must be considered. When Marshal Liu put down Sun En's rebellion, there were still those descendants of the aristocratic families in Wu who returned to the manor to help him manage the villages in Wu. But in places like Jiangzhou, Jingnan, and Guangzhou, if
We have really wiped out the rebellious and powerful landowners in various places. Then who will manage the grassroots, and who will collect taxes for the imperial court in the future, and encourage farmers to cultivate mulberry trees?"
Tao Yuanming looked at the silent faces and raised his voice again: "If anyone can come up with a good way to manage these places well after eliminating these powerful landlords, and let the people in these places
If you pay taxes and draw dice according to the law, then I will withdraw my request for Liu Pushe to issue an amnesty order, and work with you to suppress the surrounding rebellions. What do you think?"
Tan Daoji gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice: "Even if you say that you have issued an amnesty order, the powerful local landowners may not believe it, especially if they send Ding Zhuang to follow the army of demon thieves, or provide practical assistance such as food, grass, ordnance, and ships.
Mr. Tao Gong, do you have a way to make them believe in us?"
Tao Yuanming laughed: "This is the reason why I just wanted to borrow someone from you, Hu Longshi. If we go and send a letter, they may not believe it, but the Hu family is a well-known family in Jiangzhou and has won the support of powerful people from all sides.
trust and respect, they also jointly begged Lu Xun and Xu Daofu to let the demon thieves let go of the Hu family. Otherwise, although the Hu family is loyal, how could it be possible to kill only a few hundred people in a village and a village?
How have you protected yourself for so long under the banner of the imperial court?"
"Of course, these powerful landowners from all over Jiangzhou, especially the big families, were willing to intercede for the Hu family when the monsters and thieves were strong. It was not all because of their previous friendship, but more to leave a way out for themselves.
After all, just because the demon thieves are powerful does not mean they will win in the end. The Hu family is firmly on the side of the imperial court. After protecting them, there is a possibility of returning to the imperial court again. Therefore, these families did not really intend to fight against the demon thief from the beginning.
The thieves went all the way to the end and left a way out early. If we can grant them amnesty, we will give them this way out."
"What General Xue and General Gao said makes sense. Rebellion is the biggest violation of national law and must be severely punished. Otherwise, if you don't obey the law, how can you convince the public? But outside the law, you can also have amnesty. This is called extra-judicial mercy.
, is used to deal with situations where enforcing laws will bring troublesome consequences. Just like these powerful landowners are rebelling now, almost half of the powerful landowners in Jiangzhou have done so. If they have to follow the national law, then Jiangzhou will give
Killing no living people is definitely not the result we want. So the only way to solve it is through amnesty. As for those who are not even willing to receive amnesty and want to find a way to the dark side, then follow what we discussed before
That way, let other surrendered families take the initiative to send troops to attack them and make atonement for their sins."
Gao Jinzhi sneered: "Tao Gong had a really good idea. He used thieves to attack thieves and let them kill each other. However, these powerful landlords were not fools. They did not take the opportunity to attack the Hu family when the demon thieves came.
Such a powerful landowner who is loyal to the court has also interceded for the Hu family, which shows that what Xianggong Wang did in Wudi a hundred years ago is not only known to you, but also to others.
The truth.”
Xue Tong nodded and said: "That is, they will leave a way out by protecting the Hu family on the court side, but won't they also leave a way out for the demon thieves? You also said just now that the demon thieves still have many soldiers and generals.
, accounting for half of the Jin Dynasty, and with the help of external forces, they may not be able to be eliminated within a few years. If the demon thieves are allowed to return to Guangzhou, or if they take advantage of the naval force to repel our pursuit, then this war will be
If this continues for a long time, will these local snakes sincerely submit to us and fight the monsters and thieves to death? In my opinion, they are just showing off at most, and they cannot be as deadly as we fight the monsters and thieves. You rely on one
It is impossible to pacify Jiangzhou with the amnesty order!"
Tao Yuanming smiled slightly, nodded and said: "Yes, it is indeed impossible to recover the entire Jiangzhou just by relying on these Jiangzhou landlords, especially now that there are thousands or even tens of thousands of demon thief direct troops returning to Jiangzhou.
We want to stabilize the situation in Jiangzhou, so General Yu, I, and Luo Sima must send troops as soon as possible to attack Jiangzhou, so that we can force them to surrender!" (End of Chapter)