People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 452: The Ways of Governing a Country and Everyone Wanting to Become a Disciple
After the battle of Xijin Prefecture, all industries in Beiping City declined and the population lost seriously.

In addition to population, the biggest losses also occurred in business.

The business index has dropped exponentially.

In the past, Xijin Prefecture was the most prosperous commercial area in the Liao Kingdom, and Beiping City was the center of this commercial area.

But the city was burned down and people fled or died, which undoubtedly plunged the city into depression.

Even though many people who had fled the war came back to rebuild their homes after the war, many Khitan, Jurchen, Mongols, and Bohai people who originally lived in the city left one after another.

Although the overall number of these foreign populations is not as large as that of the Han people, most of them are powerful and wealthy. Non-powerful people are often engaged in the military and business, including the sale of furs, horses and other specialty products.

The powerful and the military mean consumption, and the sale of specialty products means the circulation of local bulk commodities. Without this part of the population, the business environment will naturally decline significantly.

In addition, it was difficult for the caravans to purchase the goods they needed from Peking, which eventually turned the huge city of Peking into a commercial cemetery, in stark contrast to the now booming Bianliang.

However, Zhao Jun knew that it would not be difficult to restore the previous business environment.

Although the city of Peking did not recover immediately after such a disaster, its geographical location made it only a matter of time for it to recover.

However, waiting for it to recover naturally would inevitably be a long process, so Zhao Jun had to speed up the process, have the government coordinate and manage it in a unified manner, and promote commercial development, so as to accelerate the prosperity of the city of Beiping.

This is what people often hear as national macro-control.

"Master, these are the records of some of the larger local families in Youyan Road. Currently, there are about twenty families counted."

In the afternoon, Zhao Jun entered the Beiping Palace and moved into the Yuanhe Hall.

The guards quickly set up camp inside and outside the palace. Some made beds for Zhao Jun and the others and got daily necessities, while others surrounded the palace and stood guard outside.

Zhao Jun himself was talking with several major officials of the Beiping Prefecture in the hall. This place would become his residence for some time to come.

At this moment, everyone in the hall was fascinated when they heard Zhao Jun explain the laws of urban development and the model of business operation one by one.

At this time, Wu Ruopeng, the deputy transport envoy in charge of household registration management in Youyan Road, stepped into the hall with an official document in his hand and reported to Zhao Jun: "We are currently recording the rest of the small and medium-sized families."

When Zhao Jun was in Rongcheng, he asked Yang Ting and others to organize the family information and hand it to him as soon as he arrived in Beiping Prefecture.

As time was short and the task was heavy, Yang Ting immediately asked Wu Ruopeng to return to Beiping City and start the investigation and sorting work right away.

Zhao Jun went into the city today, and he just happened to send the information over.

"Say Cao Cao, Cao Cao is here."

Zhao Jun waved to Wu Ruopeng to hand over the documents, and said with a smile: "Speaking of these Youyan Road families, the information is here. Your Youyan Road Transportation Department is very efficient."

Yang Ting said quickly: "Since the Magistrate has issued an order, all the Youyan Road Transportation Offices will naturally go all out to complete the task assigned by the Magistrate as soon as possible."

"Ah."

Zhao Jun nodded, then opened the book and started reading.

This information is quite detailed, recording the entire Youyan Road, and even the big families in Liaoyang that currently belong to Youyan Road.

In the list, in addition to the four top families of Yutian Han, Changping Liu, Yilu Ma and Lulong Zhao, there are more than a dozen first-line aristocratic families.

Such as the Han family of Anci, the Zhang family of Huailai, the Liang family of Yanjing, the Gao family of Liaoyang and so on.

They were once high-ranking noble families in the Liao Dynasty. In addition to serving as high-ranking officials in the Liao Dynasty, their families also had a large amount of property.

For example, the Anci Han family is the family of Han Yanhui, a founding hero of the Liao Dynasty. Most of their descendants served as officials in the Liao Dynasty. They had a prominent family background, many houses, and tens of thousands of acres of fertile land.

The Huailai Zhang family is the descendant of Zhang Changshi, a minister of the Liao Dynasty. Their descendants were also powerful people in the Liao Dynasty, and many of them intermarried with aristocratic families.

For example, the daughter of Zhang Chongyi, the grandson of Zhang Changshi and the general of the Left Guard and the governor of Danzhou during the reign of Emperor Jingzong of Liao, married Han Yu, a descendant of the Yutian Han family.

The Liang family of Yanjing originated from the Liang family of Ding County, Hebei. During the Five Dynasties, Liang Wengui, an official of the Later Tang Dynasty, moved to Yanjing. He later served in the Liao Dynasty, where he was promoted to the Minister of Personnel. He retired as the Prince's Grand Tutor and lived in Yantai.

Since then, the Liang family of Yanjing has been able to develop. Many lands and manors outside the city of Yanjing belong to the Liang family. Although it is not as good as the four major families, it is also a very prominent family.

As for the Liaoyang Gao family, they are very powerful. They have royal blood of Goguryeo and belong to a large Han clan in Liaodong. Later, for some reasons, they changed their surname to Zhang and became the Liaoyang Zhang family.

The Gao family of Liaoyang served in the Liao Dynasty. After the rise of the Jin Dynasty, they defected to the Jin Dynasty and changed their surname to Zhang. Among their descendants, Zhang Hao, the prime minister of the Jin Dynasty, became one.

Zhang Hao had a grandson named Wang Tingyun, and this Wang Tingyun was Mi Fu's nephew. This shows how complicated the intermarriages between these aristocratic families were.

But now everything suddenly changed overnight.

Once the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun returned to the Song Dynasty, they, as outsiders who had never participated in the imperial examinations of the Song Dynasty, were naturally excluded from the high-ranking official system.

After all, the Liao Dynasty and the later Jin Dynasty valued them because when Liao and Jin, as foreign rulers, first acquired the traditional areas of the Han people, they were bound to arouse hostility and resistance from the Han people, so they needed their help to rule the Han people.

However, the Central Plains dynasty itself was ruled by the Han people. Even though the Yanyun Han people had been separated from the Central Plains for a hundred years, and even now they still don't trust the Song court, their blood ties are there, so they won't be hostile or start a wave of resistance.

Therefore, the importance of these local aristocratic families to the Song Dynasty court declined greatly, causing them to be forced to secretly incite local people to disobey the court in order to demonstrate their own value.

At this moment, Zhao Jun was looking at the information in his hand slowly. Yang Ting and others below were looking at his expression, feeling a little uneasy.

The main reason is that these data are very superficial, such as which people hold what positions in which places, and the land, properties, and houses they own are only approximate numbers and are not specific and accurate.

It is unknown what kind of relationship they have with the local people and how many slaves and tenants they have in their homes.

The information is not detailed enough and I am afraid the director will be angry.

But unexpectedly, Zhao Jun was not angry. He just put the document on the coffee table next to him and said, "The content recorded here is still too brief."

Yang Ting smiled bitterly and said, "Reporting to the Magistrate, it is difficult for us to get the detailed amount of these noble families. If we send people to count, we will be at odds with the local noble families. If we let them send it themselves, they will firstly falsify it, and secondly, they will be unwilling to do so."

"Well, I know the difficulty, but I can tell from the rough information that these people are powerful people in the local area, owning countless land and property, and their family background is very prominent."

Zhao Jun smiled, and then said: "To be honest, I am quite surprised that you can get these materials. The content of the Imperial City Bureau is much less than yours."

Yang Ting said a little embarrassedly: "It's a bit embarrassing to say this, many of the records here were voluntarily handed over by the children of the aristocratic families. Now many of them are working in the Transportation Department. The director asked us to get the detailed information of the aristocratic families. We have no choice but to find them and let them write it themselves so that we can compare them one by one."

"This shows that the children of the noble families are not of one mind. Many of them are willing to cooperate with the court. This is a good start."

Zhao Jun pondered and said, "I have said before, divide and conquer. As long as these noble families are not united, the court can defeat them one by one, win over those who are willing to cooperate, and attack those who are unwilling to cooperate, and naturally weaken their power."

"What the dean said is true."

Everyone bowed their hands in agreement. Zhao Jun's tactics were so unpredictable that they all felt like gods and ghosts.

Zhao Jun smiled.

We have had this method since ancient times, and it is not just the case that Ying Daque Dade is the only one who is proficient in it.

But it did not become a system that was passed down.

Daiying has mastered this trick since he was in the colonies, and he will continue to use this trick no matter where he colonizes.

China, a country of civilization and etiquette, rarely uses this method unless it is absolutely necessary.

As a result, it is often only recorded in history books. If there is no special education aspect, ordinary officials may not even think about it.

Zhao Jun said in a deep voice: "Next, I will assign you a few tasks. They are related to whether we can successfully eliminate or weaken the influence of the Youyan family and increase the authority of the court. You must remember them."

"I obey the order of the court!"

Yang Ting, Zhou Hang, Wu Ruopeng and several other senior officials of Youyan Road stood up and bowed in the direction of Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun said: "First, immediately send someone to secretly investigate the reputation of the major families in the local area to see if they have committed any crimes. If so, find evidence of their crimes and select the targets for us to establish our authority."

"Yes!"

Everyone responded.

"Second, count the small and medium-sized families. These people may not be enemies of the court. Perhaps they can be won over to fight against the local aristocratic families." "Yes."

"Third, I need detailed information about these big families, such as how many acres of land they have and which high-ranking officials they have produced in the Liao Dynasty. I need to find out everything."

"Yes."

"The fourth point is also the most important one. You should pay attention to the children of aristocratic families working in the Transportation Department, the Criminal Justice Department, the Grain and Oil Department, and the government offices in various places. Talk to them more and understand their thoughts."

Zhao Jun looked at everyone and said seriously: "If necessary, you can talk to them in person. The most important thing is to understand how they view the relationship between the court and the noble families, and listen to their opinions. You can even make certain promises if they are willing to cooperate."

Yang Ting hesitated and said, "But, Dean, wouldn't this directly tell those noble families that the court might take action against them? Wouldn't that alert the enemy?"

"Do not."

Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "In essence, the court is competing with them for control of Youyan, but the power disparity between the two sides is huge. The court will increase its authority and eventually completely eliminate their influence. This is the general trend, and these noble families cannot fail to understand it. Therefore, when they are clear about this, they need to consider whether to fight against the court or obey it. The court will not use brute force unless it is absolutely necessary, which is already a gentle goodwill to them. I hope they will not be ungrateful."

This trip to Youyan can also be seen as a reform.

That is, to reform the situation in Youyan area where aristocratic families had long been in power, as in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and to strengthen central power, so as to facilitate further administration by the court.

But the power of the aristocratic families has existed for a long time, and they will certainly want to continue to survive, so conflicts may break out between the two sides.

Zhao Jun didn't really want to see bloodshed and killing. After all, these aristocratic families had been operating in Youyan for many years and had deep roots. If he used force directly, it would certainly make the Han people in Youyan even more disgusted with the imperial court.

Then the means have to be gentle, firstly to divide them, and secondly to win them over.

For example, a large family that first surrendered to the imperial court would migrate to the Central Plains and be given preferential treatment in official positions.

Even if the family members fail to pass the imperial examination, they will be granted subsidies or rewards.

With these two approaches, some aristocratic families are bound to be tempted and willing to be the first to try it out.

As long as someone takes the lead, others will follow.

As for the remaining stubborn members, that is also simple. Arrest those in the family who have committed crimes, remove all their official positions, and suppress them in various ways.

In this way, within three to five years at most, the aristocratic families in Yanyun will inevitably become history.

In the end.

The only power here is the Yanyun family.

Unlike the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the power of the aristocratic families had become so exaggerated that there were aristocratic families everywhere in the country.

"I understand!"

When everyone heard what Zhao Jun said, they all responded.

Zhao Jun nodded and said, "Okay, it's getting late, go and do as I say."

"Yes."

Everyone bowed and left.

"Zhiyuan."

After they leave.

Watching their departing figures, Wang Anshi turned his head and looked at Zhao Jun with a burning gaze and said, "The way the governor governs the country is truly unpredictable and makes people admire him very much."

"hehe."

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Does Jiefu know how to flatter?"

Wang Anshi blushed slightly, but then he looked at Zhao Jun with a serious and enthusiastic look and said, "I am not trying to flatter you, but I really think that the prefect has a long-term vision and incredible methods. I admire him very much and really hope to have a teacher like you to teach me all the time."

He has been following Zhao Jun for some time, and every time he listens to him talk about how to govern the country, he feels that he has gained new insights and benefits a lot.

"Hahahahaha."

Zhao Jun laughed and said, "It's a good thing that you can learn something from it. I just hope you can use it flexibly and serve the country and the people."

"No matter how hard I study, I always feel that the knowledge of the dean is too profound and far beyond the reach of ordinary people."

Wang Anshi could not help but say: "I really want to stay with the governor, listen to his teachings, learn how to govern the country, and even write a book to record it, so as not to miss the governor's deep meaning."

"So do I. I am willing to take you as my teacher. I only hope to be with you all the time to increase your wisdom."

Li Xiaoji immediately stood up and bowed to Zhao Jun.

When he heard Wang Anshi's words, he suddenly had an idea and immediately mustered up his courage.

Even if his grandfather is Li Di, the question is how many years can his grandfather stay in that position?
Even being able to live for a few more years is a question.

If I could become Zhao Jun's disciple, not only would I be able to learn a lot, but my career would also be smooth sailing. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

The other three, Su Huan, Chen Xiliang and Zhao Yan, were all shocked.

I never expected that Wang Anshi, who seemed the most honest, would flatter me, and I never expected that Li Xiaoji would actually want to become my disciple?
And this kind of operation?

But soon.

Su Huan also stood up and said, "The wisdom of the dean is as great as the sky and as deep as the sea. I admire him very much and would like to take him as my teacher."

He didn't blush or breathe heavily. Wang Anshi and Li Xiaoji were about the same age. Wang Anshi was 29 years old this year, and Li Xiaoji was 27 years old, much younger than Zhao Jun. He said it was normal for him to become Zhao Jun's apprentice.

Besides, Wang Anshi did not say that he wanted to be a disciple, he just wanted to learn from Zhao Jun. It was the youngest Li Xiaoji who said that he wanted to be a disciple. He was not very old, so his words would not be offensive.

Su Huan is different. He is Su Shi's uncle. He is 49 years old this year, and he is still becoming a disciple of a 36-year-old. This is obviously inappropriate.

But Confucius also said that one should not be ashamed to ask questions from those who are inferior to him, and he even took a seven-year-old child as his teacher, so it is not a big deal.

Zhao Yan thought seriously for a few seconds, then stood up and said, "Confucius once humbly asked Xiang Tuo for advice and became his disciple. Age is not important, the wisest one is the best teacher. Zhiyuan's way of governing the country is indeed admired by me and others, and I am willing to become his disciple and seek his advice."

He was a very upright person. He did not consider whether he would be promoted or not. Instead, like Wang Anshi, he did follow Zhao Jun and learned a lot. When he saw that everyone wanted to become his disciple, he also wanted to learn with an open mind.

Now Chen Xiliang felt a little embarrassed.

He looked around, and it was not a good idea whether to stand or not.

It’s not that he didn’t think Zhao Jun’s way of governing the country was poor, but when Zhao Jun went to Changsha, the two of them had a great conversation.

In addition, the two of them are of similar age, Zhao Jun is only one year older than him, so they usually call each other brothers.

The relationship and feelings are in place, so it would be a bit inappropriate to become my disciple all of a sudden.

But he also felt that Zhao Jun's teachings to local officials along the way and his pointing out of local development and problems were always to the point.

From a county to a road or a country, the governance methods are far beyond their imagination, and they admire them very much.

Chen Xiliang also stood up and said, "I am also willing to follow the governor."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Zhao Jun laughed again, waved his hands and said, "Okay, okay, it's enough that you have this intention. You don't need to become my disciple. I can be someone else's teacher, and I am willing to be someone else's teacher. But I hope to be your guide. While passing on my ideas and thoughts, you can also understand your own path from them, instead of wanting to be like me in everything."

He pondered for a moment and said, "As for whether to record it, it is actually not necessary. I want to write a few books in my later years. At that time, I will systematically explain the development and direction of the Song Dynasty and determine the future path of the Song Dynasty. It can be called "Selected Works of Zhao Jun" or "Zhao Jun Theory"."

"I really look forward to the day when Zhiyuan publishes the book."

Wang Anshi was full of fantasies.

(End of this chapter)