In the palace of the Duke of Song Dynasty, Xiao Yu and Cui Xin were sitting opposite each other in the flower hall. The drizzle was falling outside the window and the cool breeze was blowing. They looked sad.
Cui Xin looked haggard and couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty only allows the two of us to return to our place of origin and no longer interfere in the affairs of the court. However, tens of thousands of Shandong people are now prisoners in the Sixth Army Camp of the East Palace. Should we kill or let go?"
, but there is no conclusive conclusion as to whether he is a prisoner or a migrant. Why is this? If I were to return to Shandong alone, how would I face the elders of Shandong?"
At the beginning, the Shandong aristocratic families raised a hundred thousand private troops, carrying countless grains, fodder and baggage, and gathered in Tongguan in a mighty manner, vowing to support the Jin king to fight for the world and ascend to the throne. Later, they went all the way to Chang'an City, and they were only one step away from victory.
However, in the end, they fell short of success and suffered a huge defeat.
If you lose, you will lose. You are willing to accept defeat. It is not that the Shandong family has never experienced such a disastrous defeat. But if the tens of thousands of Shandong children who survived cannot be brought back to Shandong and returned to their respective families, how can I explain to each family in Shandong?
When walking on the road, if an old farmer stops his carriage and asks him why he returned home alone but not his son, how should he answer?
If he couldn't bring tens of thousands of Shandong people back to Shandong, he might as well kill himself in Chang'an to avoid being questioned and humiliated back to Shandong...
Xiao Yu was also full of worries and irritations. He could be regarded as the "chief culprit" in the King of Jin's military remonstrance, but His Majesty let him go lightly and only let him retire in office without even reducing his title. This was obviously very unusual.
After thinking about it, the only explanation is that His Majesty needs a stable Jiangnan. The upcoming land measurement will most likely cause dissatisfaction among the Jiangnan nobles and lead to turmoil. Let this old man "exercise his remaining heat" after returning to Jiangnan. Don't give it.
The court caused chaos.
But the question is why did the court measure acres of land?
Is it really just Li Chengqian who wants to achieve great success?
He always felt that there was a deeper plan behind this matter, but he could not figure out how even if all the land in the world was measured, the family members could no longer hide the land. What benefit would this have to the court?
When he was upset, he heard Cui Xin's inquiry and reassured him: "Your Majesty is not a murderer, otherwise how could you and I escape unscathed? Even Yu Chigong did not implicate the family, which shows his benevolence. The captured Shandong
There are tens of thousands of private soldiers, and no matter how cruel the king is, he cannot kill them all, otherwise he will be criticized by the whole world."
Cui Xin said anxiously: "His Majesty naturally ordered all of them to be killed. But if these Shandong disciples migrate to Mobei, the Western Regions and other border areas to reclaim land, what difference will it make to killing them?"
After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the political situation was generally stable, all industries were prosperous, and the weather was good for many years. Agriculture, which was severely damaged in the late Sui Dynasty, gradually recovered. Moreover, because the Royal Navy purchased large quantities of rice from Southeast Asian countries and imported it into the country, food was abundant and the population gradually increased.
But despite this, compared to the vast territory, the population is still too sparse, especially in the border areas where the land is barren, the climate is harsh, and the Hu tribe invades the border from time to time, resulting in many lands being desolate and abandoned.
Land without a population is a "floating land". Today it is within the territory of the Tang Dynasty. However, once the situation changes, it will be easily abandoned. Therefore, it is inevitable for the population to migrate to the border areas. These tens of thousands of Shandong people
If they are exiled and sent to the frontier, at least one county's territory will be added, which represents the official's political achievements, the strength of the empire, and the honor of His Majesty, but for the children of Shandong, it represents disaster...
Xiao Yu felt that Cui Xinzhi's words were reasonable, but there was nothing he could do about it. After thinking about it, he said: "There is nothing I can do about this matter. Why don't Cui Gong go to Liang Guogong's house and meet Fang Jun to ask a question."
The implication is that you want to bring these tens of thousands of children back to Shandong. Fang Jun is probably the only one in the government and the public who can do this.
Of course, if you want Fang Jun to speak to His Majesty about this matter, whether it succeeds or not, you have to pay a huge price to feed him...
Cui Xin was speechless. He also understood Xiao Yu's unfinished meaning, but the problem was that Fang Jun was so rich that he was the best in the world. He was now the most powerful official in the dynasty. Even Li Ji had to give way. What price do you have to pay to impress Fang Jun?
You can't learn from Xiao Yu and send one of Cui's legitimate daughters to be Fang Jun's concubine, right?
Regardless of whether Mrs. Cui will become the laughing stock of the world if she does this, the key point is that Fang Jun is not just a lustful person. What he likes is a princess, a sister-in-law, and a sister-in-law. Where can I get one for him?
For the time being, he suppressed the irritability in his heart and asked again: "What does Song Guogong think about the imperial court's land measurement?"
Xiao Yu frowned: "I'm afraid this matter is not as simple as it seems. Your Majesty must have a plan."
Cui Xin nodded in agreement and said, "It's probably Fang Jun's bad idea again..."
Although I don’t know what his final plan is, one thing is certain: it must be aimed at the noble families.
This feeling of knowing that someone is trying to cause trouble to you, but you don’t know how to deal with it, is really too bad...
Xiao Yu deliberately ignored Cui Xin's affairs, but in any case, the powerful families in Jiangnan and Shandong are now grasshoppers on a rope. With their strength greatly reduced, the only way to resist the endless malice of the imperial court is to unite.
Then he sighed and said: "Anyway, the Xiao family and Fang Jun are considered relatives by marriage. Let me accompany you to Liang Guogong's mansion tonight to test Fang Jun's tone. But you must also be prepared and think about how to persuade him." ."
Cui Xin nodded seriously.
Xiao Yu said again: "Cui Dunli is now the Minister of the Ministry of War and a close minister of His Majesty. Although he is not as good as Fang Jun, he is still considered a new noble in the court. If he is on the side to add fuel to the fire, there will be many things for the Shandong children to return to Shandong." A hope.”
When Cui Dunli was mentioned, Cui Xin sighed again.
To this day, the Shandong aristocratic family has suffered huge defeats in the pursuit of court power. Not only has it failed to push Zhang Xingcheng to a higher position, but he has been implicated and gradually marginalized. This adjustment of court officials is even more serious. Was ordered to serve...
Cui Dunli is the only member of the Shandong family who can aspire to be the six ministers. He was supposed to be the strong support of the Shandong family in the court, but because of the inexplicable death of his brother, he turned against the Shandong family.
Under such circumstances, how can we expect Cui Dunli to help?
Xiao Yu reminded: "I don't know what old grudges there are between you, but Cui Dunli is from Shandong anyway. No matter where he goes, he can't wash away the blood of Shandong. If he just sits back and watches tens of thousands of Shandong people The situation is precarious and life or death is uncertain. How will the world judge him? As long as we grasp this point, it is not difficult to let Cui Dunli contribute. He is the Minister of the Ministry of War. He has the right to say how to deal with the prisoners. At the very least, he can directly submit a letter to His Majesty. Advice carries a lot of weight."
Even if Cui Dunli has enmity with all the heads of the Shandong family, he can't ignore the life and death of those Shandong children, right? Since you are from the Cui family in Qinghe, you are connected by blood. How can you treat someone who doesn't even care about blood and family ties?
The king is loyal, filial to his parents, and righteous to his friends?
In short, it is moral kidnapping...
…
Therefore, when Cui Xin came to the door, even though Cui Dunli wanted to turn him away, he had to see him.
In the main hall, Cui Dunli drank tea with his eyelids drooped. He didn't have much respect for Cui Xin, the leader of the Shandong family. He put down the tea cup and said calmly: "This is something I don't want to do. There is really nothing I can do to help. You should ask someone else."
Please be smart."
Cui Xin was not annoyed by Cui Dunli's attitude and sighed: "You can't just ignore this matter if you don't want to. If His Majesty sends these tens of thousands of Shandong people to the border, you will not be able to escape the blame. After all, you are Qinghe
The children of the Cui family are members of the Shandong family, and it is our duty to save the children of Shandong."
"boom!"
Cui Dunli slapped his gums hard and looked at each other angrily: "You actually want to use such despicable means to threaten me. Shandong aristocratic families have inherited poems and books for thousands of years, but now they are so shameless and shameless. They all worship you, stupid and old people.
Grant! Do you recognize me as a Shandong boy now? What did you think when you tried to frame someone else for murdering my brother? You can use the lives of Shandong boys to achieve your ulterior motives, but I can’t even stay out of it.
?This is simply unreasonable!”
Being insulted by a junior in front of him, Cui Xin blushed, but now he had to ask for help, but he could only endure it, and said patiently: "The matter has come to this, who is wrong and who is right, so what? As long as these Shandong children are brought back to Shandong,
You are the hero of the Shandong family, and from now on, you will be recorded in every family tree and remembered for generations to come."
"hehe!"
Cui Dunli sneered and remained unmoved: "You are so stupid that you disregarded the justice of your family and country and blatantly supported King Jin's rebellion, which ended in a complete defeat, but you still want me to risk offending His Majesty to save your last bit of dignity...
…”
After a pause, Cui Dunli continued: "Nowadays, the affairs of the Ministry of War are complicated. I have to go back to the Yamen after a bite of food, so I won't be able to tangle with you. To tell you the truth, you can't take these Shandong people back, at least three or five."
Absolutely not within this year.”
Cui Xin was shocked and asked: "What exactly do you plan to do with these Shandong people?"
Cui Dunli pondered for a moment and said bluntly: "This matter should not be leaked, but since you are here, I can't ignore it... After returning, cooperate with the court to measure the acres, and don't get in the way. Wait until the acres are measured clearly."
, registration may be the time when these Shandong children return."
He doesn't want to get involved in this matter, but since Cui Xin has come to visit, it means that he cannot stay out of the matter, otherwise he will be slandered by the Japanese as a "cold and ruthless" family traitor. In this era when reputation is more important than anything else, it is enough for him to
Ruining a bright future.
Moreover, although this matter has never been announced to the outside world, it is not considered a secret. There is nothing wrong with informing it in advance...
Cui Xin was stunned for a long time and asked doubtfully: "Is this the plan to take these tens of thousands of Shandong disciples as hostages? What is the intention of the imperial court to measure the acres of land?"
Cui Dunli no longer wanted to say more and served tea to see off the guests: "This is your Majesty's order. As a minister, you only need to act according to the rules. Why do you want to do so much? I have to rush back to the Yamen of the Ministry of War later, so I can't hold a banquet. You'd better please come back."