The Great Tang General

"According to the order!"

Zhang Hui will personally lead a team of Tiancewei cavalry and bring officials headed by Huaiyin prefect Xun Qu to Huaiyin city.

By the time Huaiyin prefect Xun Qu realized his secret was exposed, it was already too late.

He was still in the prefect's mansion when the Tiance Guards broke in and arrested him.

A single example can reveal the whole picture. Even if there was no petition from Huaiyin Magistrate Song Pengcheng, Li Xuan would have directly arrested the Huaiyin Governor.

Huaiyin County is in a mess, there must be something wrong with the Huaiyin prefect.

Three days later, Huaiyin prefect Xun Qu was taken to the Huaiyin county government office.

"I, the emperor, am meeting you, a local emperor, in this way!"

When Xun Qu was escorted to the court, Li Xuan said to him intriguingly.

Judging from his resume, Xun Qu was the last magistrate of Huaiyin. He also served as the chief historian of Huaiyin for a period of time.

Because of his "excellent" political achievements, he was promoted to the position of prefect of Huaiyin.

The person who promoted Xun Qu has become the deputy governor of Huainan Province.

At every level, they deceive their superiors and conceal the truth from their subordinates, and pretend to obey but actually disobey.

This is a irony.

But it is not difficult to imagine that it was the powerful families who spent a lot of money to support their political achievements, which made them excellent in the eyes of the court.

In the vast territory of the Tang Dynasty, there is no absolutely perfect policy. Corrupt officials always collude with each other and cannot be eliminated.

"I have nothing to say! Just like you usurped the throne to become the emperor, the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. You don't recognize your relatives, so you won't have a good ending."

Xun Qu is not like Song Pengcheng, he has already let it go.

There was no room for quibbling, he admitted frankly.

He even confronted Li Xuan head-on.

From the moment Li Xuan went south along the Grand Canal, he had a bad feeling.

Everyone knows that the current emperor is not an easy person to deal with.

He had already reminded Huaiyin Magistrate Song Pengcheng.

But no one expected that Li Xuan would go on a secret visit and go directly to the place where the conflict was most acute in Huaiyin.

The darkness and corruption of Huaiyin are revealed, leaving nothing unseen.

"Don't judge me by the way I win. Even if I fail, there will still be countless people praising me in the future. But people like you will still be infamous in a thousand or ten thousand years..."

Li Xuan replied to Xun Qu indifferently.

His mind was too steadfast to be misled by such fallacies.

In his opinion, Xun Qu was just being stubborn before his death.

For a person like Xun Qu who has great connections in Huainan Province, it would be difficult for ordinary censors to confront him. They would be opposed by various forces.

But once Li Xuan finds the clues, he can destroy them with ease.

A prefect like Xun Qu had no power to resist at all.

"I do not believe."

Xun Qu could only utter these three words.

"Whether you believe it or not, it's not something you can see."

In Li Xuan's mind, Xun Qu was doomed to die.

Not killing is not enough to make people angry.

"It is more difficult to lose the people's hearts than to win them over. If the Tang Dynasty is to fall, it must have started in the south."

Xun Qu ridiculed Li Xuan again.

"You know everything, but you can't keep yourself straight. No matter how difficult it is to win the hearts of the people, the court will persevere. Everything will start with your heads to calm the resentment of the people of Huaiyin."

Li Xuan pointed at Xun Qu's head.

"In this vast world, how many honest officials are there? They are just bound by the law."

Xun Qu was still making his case.

He only knew that his corruption and bribery were one of the factors for promotion and wealth.

Although he exploited and oppressed the people, he paid more taxes to the court every year.

This is the credit of capable ministers.

"A fool like you, are you qualified to bring this up? Gong Xiuyi used to love eating fish, but he never accepted the fish sent by his subordinates. In this way, he was able to buy fish with his salary. This is true smartness."

"I have used the example of Tian Yannian of the Han Dynasty who embezzled 30 million yuan to warn the officials many times, hoping that they would not repeat the same mistake. However, many officials still followed Tian Yannian's lead. Do you think these people are smart or stupid?"

Li Xuan asked, every word of which was brilliant.

Xun Qu was speechless. Perhaps he was just a short-sighted fool.

For the sake of temporary interests, not only will your future be ruined, but your life may also be in danger.

Li Xuan didn't want to talk more with Xun Qu.

He met Xun Qu because he wanted to see what Xun Qu, the mastermind behind the scenes, looked like.

At first glance, Xun Qu looked dignified and handsome, and was thought to be a loyal minister.

He went to Chang'an, accepted assessments from the Ministry of Personnel and the prime ministers, and was qualified for important tasks.

We can judge a person by his face but not his heart, and great loyalty may appear treacherous. This is what people like Xun Qu are like.

After saying this, Li Xuan ordered his men to drag Xun Qu away, and when all the Huaiyin officials were arrested, they would all be executed.

On the same day, Li Xuan issued an edict to the entire Huaiyin County, announcing the crimes of all Huaiyin officials.

More Tiance Guards entered Huaiyin to prevent some forces from launching a desperate counterattack before their death.

When it comes to getting rid of lowliness and becoming good, similar things are everywhere.

Li Xuan also issued a military order to the Yangzhou Army, which was closest to Huaiyin, to send 2,000 soldiers by boat to Huaiyin to prepare for any eventuality.

The Yangzhou Army temporarily took over all public security in Huaiyin County.

Until the new officials arrived in Huaiyin County and stabilized the situation.

Li Xuan's worries were not unnecessary. After other powerful people in Huaiyin County learned that the powerful people in Huaiyin County had been arrested, although they did not directly engage in combat with the Tiance Guards, they escaped openly or secretly.

In this situation, if you don't run, you will die.

They loved the land, but had to give it up.

But the world belongs to Li Xuan, where can they run to?

Li Xuan ordered the Tiance Guards to encircle and intercept the enemy in Huaiyin County.

He also ordered the counties around Huaiyin to keep a strict watch, record the names of every powerful person, and arrest them immediately if they were found.

"I failed to supervise the Jinyiwei properly, causing them to lose control. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

After Liao Zhengrong dealt with the matter of the Huaiyin Jinyiwei, he apologized to Li Xuan.

He considered himself guilty of dereliction of duty at the very least.

"If you are guilty, I am guilty too. The governor is the tyrant of the region, and this is my fault."

Li Xuan never thought of punishing Liao Zhengrong for this.

It would be strange if there was no corruption among the Jinyiwei.

The Jinyiwei are also human beings, and human beings will change their hearts.

Liao Zhengrong controls more than 100,000 Jinyiwei in the whole country, so it is impossible for him to take care of everything.

Just like under Li Xuan's rule, a group of corrupt officials would be caught from time to time.

"But the Huaiyin incident is a lesson worth pondering. The Jinyiwei supervised all officials, but who could supervise the Jinyiwei? As long as the big families corrupted the Jinyiwei and local officials, they could dominate a place and do whatever they wanted."

After Li Xuan helped Liao Zhengrong up, he asked him.

Previously, local officials were asked to monitor the Jinyiwei in turn, and the two forces restrained each other.

Now it seems that this may not work.

As in the case of Huaiyin, both the officials and the Jinyiwei were corrupt.

The Jinyiwei could also help Huaiyin officials pass false information to the court.

There is also a monitoring system within the Jinyiwei, but it is out of reach.

It is impossible for the Jinyiwei inspectors to reach every county.

"Report to the Supreme Lord, and set up a new supervisory agency to monitor the operation of the Royal Guard."

Liao Zhengrong replied to Li Xuan.

"This will consume the country's strength, and it is inevitable that there will be no end to it."

Li Xuan answered slowly.

It is absolutely not feasible to set up a new department to monitor problems in one department.

"A big reward will always bring about a brave man. You can issue a big reward within the Jinyiwei to report illegal activities. If the report is true, you should be promoted and rewarded."

Liao Zhengrong suggested to Li Xuan again.

"This rule may not be tried in the Jinyiwei, as it may cause everyone to feel insecure."

Li Xuan shook his head. "I am stupid..."

In this case, Liao Zhengrong had no better way.

"The Jinyiwei can no longer be fixed in a certain county, but must be mobile. It would be best if the Jinyiwei in a county were replaced every year or so. If there is a great evil in a place, it is impossible for all the Jinyiwei to be corrupted."

Li Xuan told Liao Zhengrong his idea.

The predecessor of the Jinyiwei was the Changping New Soldiers. Before that, Li Xuan took the soldiers' place of origin into consideration and assigned the veterans according to their place of origin and recruited other members in their respective hometowns.

Now it seems that this has both advantages and disadvantages.

The same group of Jinyiwei are stationed in this county all year round. When they are unable to face promotion or encounter financial pressure, they are likely to abandon their original intentions.

"The Supreme's order can be tried out."

Liao Zhengrong thinks this is not a bad idea.

It cannot be said to be absolute, but it can purify the Jinyiwei team to a certain extent.

The Jinyiwei, who constantly circulate among the provinces, counties and prefectures across the country, will appear to be more shrewd and capable.

Li Xuan handed the specific plan over to Liao Zhengrong to draft.

Initially, they were replaced once a year, with the Jinyiwei from the neighboring county being rotated.

A few days later, Huainan Governor Xiao Xin and many officials from Huainan Province rushed from Xuzhou to meet the Supreme.

It was only on the way that he learned about the big event that had happened in Huainan.

That's okay.

Although Xiao Xin had just been appointed as the governor of Huainan, he had an unshirkable responsibility.

Before this, Xiao Xin sent people to inspect various counties and make sure to report the real situation of the local areas to him.

However, few envoys would go to the countryside. They would only follow the rules and go to the county government to check the accounts, and were deceived by the appearance of Huaiyin County.

After meeting Xiao Xin, Li Xuan first arrested Shan Ting, the former governor of Huaiyin and current deputy governor of Huainan.

In fact, Shan Ting has been controlled by Xiao Xin.

Shan Ting spoke well of Huaiyin County in front of Xiao Xin many times.

When something happened in Huaiyin County, Xiao Xin realized that Shan Ting was deceiving him.

Li Xuan only reprimanded Xiao Xin, considering that he had only been in office for less than a year and was separated by mountains and rivers and did not know anything. In addition, the provincial system had just been established and the court had delegated power for less than half a year, so he could not know everything, so he forgave him once.

He told Xiao Xin that the real Tang Dynasty was on the fields and among the villages.

This sentence will be published in the next issue of "Tang Monthly".

It not only encourages officials in Huainan, but also officials across the country who want to make achievements, to go to the fields more often to see how the people cultivate grain, the grain harvest, and the hardships of "hoeing the fields at noon, sweat dripping onto the soil."

We should also go around the countryside to see if the people have enough food and warm clothes.

Officials are the parents of the country, and the people are the breadwinners of the country. They should not just stay in the government office in the city to deal with official documents.

Seeing is believing, hearing is not.

Let’s take Huaiyin as an example. No matter how good the political achievements are, they are just superficial.

There is nothing trivial about people’s livelihood. Only by seeing the problem can we solve it.

After this incident, countless officials actually began to step into the fields and enter the thatched huts of the people.

With the emperor as an example, an unprecedented era began...

In mid-November, all the Huaiyin officials surrendered to the police, and Li Xuan ordered their execution.

The imperial decree is there and there is no need to go to the Dali Temple for review.

On the day of the execution, people from almost all the villages, including Xuanze Township, walked to Huaiyin City to watch the corrupt official who made them grit their teeth fall to the ground.

This time, not only the Huaiyin magistrate and the Huaiyin prefect were executed, but even the former Huaiyin prefect was executed.

Justice is clear, the sun and the moon are bright.

There was no way they would survive this winter.

Outside the city of Huaiyin, Li Xuan personally served as the executioner.

"cut!"

At three quarters after noon, Li Xuan gave an order.

Among those beheaded were officials and powerful people.

There is calmness, despair, fear, and regret...

Some people shouted and begged for mercy, and some people threw their hats in the ring and cursed Li Xuan...

"Pfft..."

"Pfft..."

No matter what, their fate ends here.

One head after another fell to the ground amid the cheers of the people.

The people were finally delighted that their great revenge had been achieved.

Just as Li Xuan said, taking the head of the corrupt official in Huaiyin is the first step to winning back the hearts of the people.

The next step is to distribute land and money to the powerful, in order to completely win over the hearts of the people.

The officials re-managed Huaiyin.

Li Xuan asked Xiao Xin to be in charge of counting the assets of the powerful and distributing the land in Huaiyin City.

The assets of the powerful are the fat of the people and are obtained by exploiting the common people.

If the elimination of the lowly and the good is not thorough, it is the responsibility of the court. All the assets of the powerful, including gold, silver and jewelry, will be converted into silk and copper coins and distributed equally among the people.

When silk, money, and deeds to farmland were distributed to the landless people, the people of Huaiyin were all moved to tears of gratitude.

Li Xuan took the opportunity to exempt the people of Huaiyin from all farmland taxes for two years.

The expenses of the Huaiyin government are supported by the entire Huainan Province.

It was impossible for the people not to be moved when they saw the emperor personally upholding justice.

They feel that after eliminating evil and treacherous people, the world will be broad.

After the land is distributed, the Supreme Being’s grace will spread like a gentle breeze across the four seas.

Huaiyin will leave behind the legend about Li Xuan.

……

The dragon boat sailed along the Huai River from Linhuai to Shanyang City.

Li Xuan, with the farewell of the people, rode a horse to Shanyang and met Pei Lingxi.

Although Shanyang City was the county seat of Huaiyin, it was one of the hubs of the Grand Canal after all. Officials headed by Xun Qu did not dare to act openly, so the overall situation was easy to deal with.

The story of the Supreme Emperor's secret visits to punish evildoers spread quickly along the Grand Canal system and then spread inland.

Many officials understood the Supreme’s intention and knew that the Supreme wanted to see the real place.

Different officials had different feelings when facing Li Xuan's secret visit.

In any case, it urges local officials to manage people's livelihood well and care for the people.

Those who are greedy will sooner or later lose their heads like Xun Qu, Song Pengcheng and others.

In December, when the world was cold and clear, Li Xuan went to Yangzhou.

Yangzhou City belongs to Guangling County. It is the county seat of Guangling County, the provincial capital of Jiangnan Province, and the seat of Guangling Military Governor's Office.

It is the most important city in the Jiangnan region in the eastern part of the Tang Dynasty.

In Yangzhou, the handicraft and textile industries are extremely developed and distinctive, and both are the most sophisticated skills in the world.

Li Xuan inspected Yangzhou City and the counties and villages near Yangzhou City for a month. There were only minor problems, no major ones.

He also celebrated the New Year in Yangzhou City and enjoyed himself with the people.

During the first month of the year, Li Xuan inspected the Yangzhou Governor's Office again, reviewed part of the troops left in Yangzhou, and rewarded the troops.

The current governor of Jiangnan is Chang Cui, who previously made great contributions in building roads in Lingnan and had good methods of governing the county.

Li Xuan praised Chang Cui's abilities, and did not forget to use the example of Huaiyin to let Chang Cui learn from it.

At the same time, guidance was provided for the industrial and commercial development of Yangzhou.

In late January of the seventh year of Qianyuan, accompanied by Chang Cui, Li Xuan sailed south into the Yangtze River.

Go upstream to Jinling.

While he was on his way to Jinling for inspection, he was also preparing to meet an old friend.

Li Bai!

He was not involved in the Yongwang Rebellion, did not suffer torture, and did not suffer the destruction of the country caused by the Anshi Rebellion.

Li Bai is still alive in this time and space.

This is God’s mercy.

After 20 years of separation, we finally meet again...

(End of this chapter)