Last year, there was a severe drought in Qi County, and hungry people were everywhere. In addition, the imperial court recruited 600,000 civilians to transport grain to Liaodong, which caused the people's resentment to boil.
Food, but Zhang Xutuo also knew that the people of Qijun had been driven into a desperate situation. If they were not given a way to survive, hundreds of thousands of people would go to the mountains to become bandits.
Therefore, Zhang Xutuo ignored the opposition of all officials and decided to open warehouses to provide disaster relief without authorization, which gave the people who were about to suffer from a full-scale famine a glimmer of hope. The angry people's complaints gradually subsided. Afterwards, not only was Zhang Xutuo not punished, Sui Emperor Yang Guang
He was specially commended because it was Zhang Xutuo's demonstration effect that caused officials in the disaster area to open warehouses to provide disaster relief, and the people at the bottom survived the most difficult six years of winter.
Yang Yuanqing's inspection this time is actually a general liquidation of the warehouses opened for disaster relief last year. If there is no corruption or illegal matters, then this matter is over.
As for why Qi County was checked first, the usual understanding is that Qi County was the first to open warehouses for disaster relief, so Qi County was naturally the first stop.
After Yang Yuanqing introduced the situation, Zhang Xutuo said calmly: "All the disaster relief account books are complete and clear. I, Zhang Xutuo, have not coveted a bucket of food. Yuanqing, even if you are stern, even if you find other
If there is a problem, I will accept the punishment calmly."
At what was originally a good reception banquet, Zhang Xutuo's attitude became serious, and the light atmosphere disappeared. Everyone was silent, even Luo Shixin did not dare to say a word.
Seeing that the situation was cold, Yang Zhiji quickly laughed and said: "We won't talk about business at the banquet. Let's continue talking about rose wine. Brother Yang, I don't know which one do you think is better between Italian rose wine and Gaochang rose wine?
?”
After drinking Jiefeng Wine, Yang Yuanqing and Zhang Xutuo were alone in the county government office. Yang Yuanqing then spoke openly and honestly: "Before I left, the Holy Father specially drew two lines for me. The upper limit is five hundred shi of grain. Every inquiry
Officials who corrupt more than 500 shi of food will be impeached and executed. Those who are less than 500 shi but more than 100 shi will have to make a list to the emperor. If it is less than 100 shi, they can be let go. But in fact
We also mainly focus on auditing accounts. As long as the accounts are clear and the procedures are complete, we can basically let it go, so even if Master has some minor problems, I will not pursue them. Please feel free to worry, Master."
Zhang Xutuo's face sank and he said: "I have just said that I am clean and innocent. Do you still have doubts about what I said?"
Yang Yuanqing smiled bitterly and said: "There is no word 'innocent' in the eyes of the censor. If no problem can be found, it means the censor is incompetent. The Holy Spirit will not accept such an investigation report. And you are my master. I say you
If he is innocent, then someone will definitely come to investigate. If he is an upright censor, maybe he can report the truth truthfully, but if he is a censor who is good at catering to the holy will, even if the master has no problem, he will create problems, and then the problem will be
This is serious, master, do you understand what I mean?"
Zhang Xutuo said coldly: "You mean to let me find some questions for you, right!"
Zhang Xutuo's tone was very cold, and there was also a hint of disappointment. He felt that his apprentice had changed a bit, and had become very Machiavellian. He was like an old man who had been immersed in officialdom for decades, and no longer had the temperament he had when he was a teenager.
Upright and strong.
Zhang Xutuo stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, staring at the distant sky. After a while, he asked: "If the second censor concocts false evidence against me, will it affect you?"
Yang Yuanqing could feel Zhang Xutuo's dissatisfaction with him. He also knew the reason for this dissatisfaction. But Yang Yuanqing was also helpless. The murderous intention of the officialdom battle lurked. If he was not careful, he would die at the hands of his political opponents.
.
In fact, Yang Guang and he only discussed in detail the boundaries of investigating and handling cases. At least who should be investigated first and who should be investigated later. Yang Guang did not say, but the imperial edict said that Qi County should be investigated first, and the imperial edict was drafted by Yu Shiji. He suspected that it was Yu Shiji's.
The purpose of the deliberate arrangement was to put Qijun's investigation first, so that Yang Guang would be reminded of his relationship with Zhang Xutuo.
Then Yu Shiji could use the topic to his advantage, and then sent the censor to use the same tactics he used against Zhang Yiyun to deal with Zhang Xutuo. Finally, he found out Zhang Xutuo's serious crime, and finally he impeached himself for harboring the crime. Yang Yuanqing struggled in the officialdom for many years.
He has been able to sensitively detect this invisible method of killing people.
But Yang Yuanqing also knew his master very well. If he was said to be implicated, he would definitely do something against his will, and he would be resentful for the rest of his life.
Yang Yuanqing was silent for a long time and then said: "I am afraid that Master will suffer a serious crime."
Zhang Xutuo sneered, "If it's for this, then it doesn't matter. Let them investigate. If they make something out of nothing and frame it on me, then I will fight against the Holy One. If the Holy One listens to the slander and must kill me, then I will too."
I can only accept my fate. In a word, I would rather die than admit that I embezzled government funds and robbed people of their wealth."
Yang Yuanqing sighed secretly in his heart. If the master was really killed innocently, then the last pillar of the Sui Dynasty would be gone. He felt that he could no longer talk to Zhang Xutuo, so he changed the subject and said with a smile: "Say
Talk about rebels! Didn’t Master say that we are going to get rid of Wang Bo and Meng Rang before the summer harvest? Do you have a plan?"
Speaking of rehabilitating the rebels, Zhang Xutuo immediately became energetic. He also smiled and said: "Of course I have a plan. It can be said that I caught Wang Bo and Meng Rang's guards. Their food supply can no longer sustain them. Today
In the evening, I will lead the army to sweep Changbai Mountain."
That night, Zhang Xutuo left 500 men to guard the city, and he personally led 4,000 county soldiers to Changbai Mountain to suppress the bandits.
Changbai Mountain is located at the junction of four counties. The main mountain ridge is in Zhangqiu. The mountain is steep and has many mountains, stretching for hundreds of miles. It is known as the "Video Mountain of Taishan". It is named because the top of the mountain is often surrounded by white clouds. Due to the high mountain
The dense forests and ravines could hide millions of troops, so Zhang Xutuo led his troops to encircle and suppress Wang Bo several times without success.
After more than a year of development, Wang Bo's army has reached more than 34,000 men. Although he suffered a disastrous defeat in the horse grab in Zhu'a County and more than 4,000 people were destroyed, Wang Bo still has nearly 30,000 troops.
In addition to Wang Bo's group, there are more than a dozen small bandits in Changbai Mountain, that is, dozens of people and more than a hundred people. They had already turned into bandits in Changbai Mountain long before Wang Bo. They are veritable bandits, but they are not harmful.
Most of them rob passing merchants or harass the villages and towns near Changbai Mountain.
But at the beginning of this year, another powerful rebel bandit appeared in Changbai Mountain, with nearly 10,000 people. The leader of the bandit was named Meng Rang, a general with both civil and military skills. He was originally a subordinate of Zhang Xutuo and served as the chief clerk. Due to his resentment,
Yang Guang conquered Korea and resolutely rebelled. His slogan was that he would rather die at home than go to Liaodong. This also attracted a large number of strong men and brave men who evaded military service, which made his power grow rapidly and became the second mountain god in Changbai Mountain.
Wang Bo and Meng Rang were originally two separate armies, but after Wang Bo defeated Zhu'a County, he immediately came to visit Meng Rang. After some hard persuasion, Meng Rang finally agreed to Wang Bo's request, and the two
The two armies were merged. Wang Bo called himself General of Hussars, and Meng Rang was called General of Champions. The two commanded an army of 40,000 people.
The merger of the two armies was also forced. Both sides faced severe food problems. They had to feed more than 40,000 people and needed a large amount of food every day. Almost all the squires of Qi County fled into the city. The countryside was desolate and summer grain had not been planted. They had already
Nowhere to plunder.
After joining forces, their strength grew, and they began to consider plundering the county town. Only by plundering the county town could they gain something and feed their 40,000 men.
However, when considering the specific plan, the two had differences. Wang Bo advocated starting from small counties with weak military forces, plundering them and returning to the mountains, while Meng Rang wanted to occupy large cities, separate one side, repair internal affairs, and increase his strength.
, against the Sui Dynasty.
The two discussed for two days with no result. Early that morning, Meng Rang hurried to the meeting hall. Meng Rang was about thirty-five or six years old, ten years younger than Wang Bo. He was tall and burly. He came from an official family and his father
He was once the governor of Pingyuan in the Northern Qi Dynasty. After the fall of the Northern Qi Dynasty, he lived in seclusion at home and taught his son to read and practice martial arts.
Officials, but they care about the world. This time the Sui Emperor attacked Goryeo, which led to the rise of thieves in Shandong. Meng Rang thought that an opportunity had come and resolutely raised his troops to rebel.
As officials from various places opened warehouses to provide disaster relief, the people's desire to rebel was greatly reduced. Meng Rang realized that he had not grasped the timing well and raised his troops too early. But now there was nothing he could do. He could only temporarily follow the more prestigious Wang Bo.
, waiting for the opportunity.
"Brother, why are you looking for me so early?" Meng Rang smiled as he walked into the lobby.
Their soldier barracks were all built with thatched huts as tents, and the only masonry building was a mountain temple. The mud body of the mountain god had been cleared away, and the main hall became their meeting hall.
Wang Bo sighed, "Brother Xian, I have two things to tell you. The first thing is that we only have enough food to last two days."
Meng Rang was stunned, "Don't we still have wheat fields at the foot of the mountain?"
Wang Bo smiled bitterly and said: "This is the second thing I want to tell you. Zhang Xutuo led the main force to encircle and suppress us. They took away all the wheat that was about to mature."
"What!"
Meng Rang clenched his fists, eyes blazing with hatred. They had worked hard to plant hundreds of acres of wheat fields at the foot of the mountain, but they were about to mature, but Zhang Xutuo destroyed them.
"Don't you have spies in Licheng County? Why didn't you get the news in advance?"
"Zhang Xutuo left the city overnight, and by the time the spies got the news, it was already too late."
Wang Bo slowly gritted his teeth and said: "There are only 4,500 county soldiers in Licheng County, and Zhang Xutuo brought 4,000 people. Licheng County must be empty. Why don't we counterattack Licheng County, even if we can't capture the city?"
, but we can harvest all the tens of thousands of acres of wheat outside the city."
"But I'm worried that this is Zhang Xutuo's trick."
"Are you sure it was his plan?"
Meng Rang shook his head, "I'm just worried!"
Wang Bo sighed slightly, "I also know there will be danger, but we only have two days of food, what do you think we should do?"