The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Apart from Cao Rong's bedroom, the Imperial Guards searched every possible part of the Cao residence, even tearing off three roof tiles from the Cao family's storeroom.

According to the report from the Imperial Guards on the roof, the three warehouses were quite valuable; given Cao Rong's annual salary, he could probably earn that much money even if he lived for a thousand years.

After hearing what they said, Pan Jun and the others understood that this place could be raided.

By this time, it was already dawn, and the servants of the Cao family were getting up one after another, while their masters were still asleep.

Xue Shao glanced in the direction of the master bedroom, nodded to Pan Jun, and said, "I will be meeting Jiao Tong this morning. It's not appropriate for you to show your face. Do whatever you want."

He handed over the list he had written in the treasury to An Chen, while he took the original account books from the treasury. The confiscated gold and silver jewelry were all in Pan Jun's hands.

It can be described as a perfect triangle, and it is extremely stable.

Neither An Chen nor Pan Yun had any objections.

The group slipped back to the inn where they had stayed the day before, and while they still had some time, they all rolled onto the bed and fell fast asleep.

Pan Yun slept the best. She washed her hands and face first, changed her clothes, and then covered herself with the blanket for a good night's sleep.

The Imperial Guards took a nap on the bed. An hour later, they woke up and went to An Chen's room to receive orders.

Xue Shao, on the other hand, didn't sleep at all. After returning to his room, he washed his face and hands and sat at the table in deep thought. No one knows what he was thinking, but he sat there for an hour.

At Chenshi (7-9 AM), Xue Shao woke up the fast-sleeping Xi Jin, and after washing up, they went downstairs for breakfast.

Then he shouldered his bundle and walked with Xijin to the Provincial Governor's Office.

The news of the arrival of the Imperial Inspector Xue Shao in Guangzhou Prefecture spread throughout the officialdom that very day.

Ordinary people know nothing yet, and they continue to live their lives as usual.

But the officials in Guangzhou were on edge, their hearts pounding with worry.

"This Imperial Censor Xue has a great reputation. If he doesn't find out something after coming to Guangzhou Prefecture, would he be willing to leave?"

“Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. This is Lingnan, not Jiangnan. If he dares to act recklessly, not to mention the local chieftains and villagers, I'm afraid even Lord Jiao won't agree.”

Jiao Tong did disagree. After a private conversation with Xue Shao, he directly rejected him, saying, "The situation in Lingnan is complicated and cannot be handled in the same way as in Jiangnan."

"Cao Rong is a malignant tumor. If we leave him in Guangzhou, the whole of Guangdong will be covered with small malignant tumors."

“Although it is a malignant tumor, it can suppress an even more urgent and serious disease,” Jiao Tong said. “After the late emperor’s failed expedition last year, Guangxi has been in turmoil ever since, and it has not been quelled yet. Are you aware of that?”

Xue Shao: "It was just a small-scale disturbance. The imperial court didn't even send reinforcements from the capital, only sending troops stationed in Huguang to provide assistance."

Jiao Tong snorted coldly and said, "But such a small rebellion has not been quelled even after almost a year since last October."

Xue Shao paused for a moment before saying, "Guangxi is mountainous. As long as the rebels hide in the mountains, the army can't do anything to them..."

“Yes, and the ethnic minorities in Guangxi are not like those in the Luchuan War. They can be pacified with a little appeasement, so the court doesn’t take them seriously,” Jiao Tong sneered. “But is dragging it out like this, just using garrison troops to wear down the rebels, really a good solution?”

“I don’t understand war, but I can read people’s hearts,” Jiao Tong said. “I can tell that if the court can’t come up with a practical solution, this rebellion in Guangxi will definitely expand and will not only affect Guangdong, but also Hunan. I know that Cao Rong is embezzling salaries and seizing farmland, but he can control the garrison in Guangdong and suppress the local chieftains and villagers in Guangdong.”

Xue Shao frowned.

Jiao Tongdao said, “At this turbulent time, I think it’s better to take action than to remain still. If you want to take action against him, you can either find a general with even greater prestige than him in Guangdong to suppress him, or wait until the rebellion in Guangxi is completely resolved.”

Xue Shao lowered his eyes and pondered for a long time. Just when Jiao Tong almost thought he had given up, he raised his head and said, "Lord Jiao, I am an inspector. It is my duty to inspect the people's livelihood and conditions, examine the performance and virtue of officials, correct the wrongs, and restore a bright and clear sky for the people. Cao Rong, I have made up my mind."

Jiao Tong said unhappily, "I thought you were different from your uncle, at least you understood that you couldn't fight a losing battle. I didn't expect that you two had the same bad temper, not considering the consequences and insisting on some legal principles."

Xue Shao: "If we do not uphold the law, how can we govern the country?"

"Legal principles must also take into account the overall situation. You know that prosecuting Cao Rong might trigger a major rebellion and cause more deaths, but you still want to prosecute him?"

Xue Shao: "Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there have been constant rebellions in various places. The reason for this is that the court only investigates the superficial reasons each time, never delving into the root causes, let alone solving the root causes. As a result, the rebellions are like sparks, one after another, and they reignite after being extinguished for a period of time, so that they never stop."

Xue Shao rarely showed anger, and questioned Jiao Tong: "Uncle Jiao, regardless of official rank or stance, if my great-uncle were to ask you on the spot, tell me, why are the rebellions in Guangdong and Guangxi continuing? Why are those local people willing to risk their lives to rebel?"

Jiao Tong clenched his fists and said in a deep voice, "They want to use rebellion to force the court to make concessions and divide the country."

Xue Shao scoffed: "Lingnan has been part of China since ancient times. Its bloodline is either from the Yellow Emperor or Chiyou. Even Jiaozhi had rebellious intentions, but when has Lingnan ever had the idea of ​​independence? If they really wanted to divide the country, they should have made the Tusi (local chieftain) their leader. How come the rebellious Tusi not only attacked the imperial army but also the Tusi?"

Jiao Tong opened his mouth, realizing that the rebellion in Guangxi was indeed different from that of Sijifa.

The Siji family truly wanted independence, to establish themselves as kings, and to follow the example of countries like Burma that recognized the Ming Dynasty as their suzerain state after establishing their own nations.

However, the Luchuan area had long been part of the Ming Dynasty's territory, and all people under heaven were subjects of the emperor. The Ming Dynasty could not stand by and watch Siji lead its people to their deaths and drive them around like slaves, so it had to send troops to suppress them.

The rebellion in Guangxi, the reasons for which...

Jiao Tong rubbed his forehead and remained silent.

Xue Shao pressed on, asking, "Uncle Jiao, please tell me the reason, or is it that even you don't know the root of the problem?"

Jiao Tong remained silent. "Is it that you truly don't know, or are you afraid to speak?"

Jiao Tong sighed and said, "Xue Shao, what's the use of saying anything if you can't change it? It will only cause you more trouble."

“How do you know it’s useless if you don’t tell me?” Xue Shao said. “Besides, you may know, but others may not. If you don’t tell them the root cause, they will think that the local people of Guangxi are really insatiable and are rebelling.”

"If we talk about it more, and more people know about it, and there are so many smart people in the world, perhaps someone can come up with a good solution based on the reasons?" Xue Shao said, "Even if no one can come up with a good solution once and for all, if a hundred people know about it, a thousand people know about it, ten thousand people know about it, or even a hundred thousand or a million people know about it, and they are all willing to make a small change, if everyone makes a small change, then the problem will be solved, right?"

Jiao Tong mocked Xue Shao for his unrealistic ideas: "You've been an official for several years now, and you're an inspector. How can you still be so naive? How can there be a million people in this world who are willing to change at the same time? Let alone a million or a hundred thousand, it would be as difficult as climbing to heaven to get a hundred people to change at the same time."

Xue Shao did not laugh. He thought of the people who knelt and worshipped Pan Yun and took Pan Yun as their faith, and shook his head slightly, saying, "No, it is precisely because I served as an inspector that I know that nothing in this world is impossible."

“I once felt powerless and resentful, but things can be changed. Everyone yearns for a better life, and the common people’s yearning for a better life is only stronger. As long as we tell them this, I believe they will definitely change.” Xue Shao said, “Uncle Jiao, aren’t you, me, and countless other officials all from the ranks of scholars? And aren’t scholars all from the ranks of ordinary people?”

"If we have this understanding when we are ordinary people, and adhere to our own ideas when we are students, then when we become officials, we will naturally be willing to work hard to eliminate these injustices."

Jiao Tong mocked, "Then you'd have to start from childhood and wait until they pass the imperial examinations and become officials, which would take at least thirty years. But how many students can you teach at once?"

Jiao Tongdao said, "Teacher, you have students all over the world, but you only have great prestige in Hedong and Sichuan. When it comes to officials in the court and education, you still have to look to Jiangnan. Do you think you can interfere with education in Jiangnan?"

"The people of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, and Southern Zhili—these places don't even respect the emperor. You're just a lowly censor, and from Hedong at that. How can you possibly instill your ideas in their children?" Jiao Tong shook his head slightly and asked, "Are you in despair now?"

Xue Shao shook his head: "No despair, only fighting spirit."

Jiao Tong: "Stubborn and obstinate."

Jiao Tong was about to leave after he finished speaking.

Xue Shao reached out to stop him: "Uncle Jiao, you haven't told us yet what the root cause of the rebellion of the native people in Guangxi is."

Jiao Tong paused for a moment and then said, "The problem lies in the excessive oppression. During the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao, although the emperor was wary of these local people, he genuinely wanted to win their hearts and minds. Therefore, he tried his best to appease them and reduce taxes. However, at that time, the country had just been pacified, and banditry was rampant in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions. In order to quell the banditry and prevent the chieftains from causing trouble, the emperor sent fierce generals to guard the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, but..."

"But the country had just been settled, and everyone was rewarded according to their merits. The officers had fought for half their lives and wanted to live a good life, so they acted recklessly in the local area." Xue Shao continued, "Guangdong and Guangxi, especially Guangxi, are mountainous and have little land. Their economy is extremely underdeveloped. If the officers wanted to live the luxurious life of the nobles in the capital, they would have to rely on more local people for support. This is one of the important reasons why there were so many rebellions in Guangdong and Guangxi in the early days of the founding of our Great Ming Dynasty."

Jiao Tong sighed and nodded, saying, "Yes, that's when the enmity was formed. Later, Emperor Taizu killed many military generals, and Guangdong and Guangxi were temporarily stable. But later, the court launched several military campaigns against the north and Jiaozhi. Not only did it have to recruit soldiers from Guangdong and Guangxi, but it also had to allocate taxes to them. For every tael allocated by the court, the chieftain would ask the local people for three taels. After handing over one tael, he could keep two taels for himself. The local people couldn't pay, and they couldn't make a living, so they naturally rebelled."

Moreover, Guangxi has a small population and a large population, and its people have always been known for their fierce and unyielding nature. Unlike ordinary people in the Central Plains and Jiangnan, who would endure being exploited, only to be exploited again and again until they had to sell their children or even themselves, and only rebel when they could no longer survive by selling themselves, the people of Guangxi would simply hide their children in the mountains and the entire village would rebel when they realized they were being treated unfairly and needed to sell their children to make ends meet.

They completely omitted the process of enduring hardship in between.

Therefore, the imperial court always felt that the local people in Guangxi were particularly difficult to deal with, and they rebelled every year. Fortunately, they were all small-scale rebellions, one village at a time.

Apart from one or two major rebellions in the early years of the People's Republic of China that required the dispatch of troops to suppress, the local garrison usually handled the situation, with the most occasions involving troops stationed in Guangdong and Hunan.

In particular, the troops stationed in Guangdong had to send troops to help suppress the rebellions of the local people in Guangxi seven times out of ten.

However, this also has a drawback.

The local people in Guangdong, seeing that there was a rebellion in the neighboring mountains, would occasionally join in.

Therefore, whenever someone in Guangxi rebelled, Jiao Tong would contact Cao Rong to establish a relationship and ask him to strengthen his patrols of the area to prevent anyone from launching a rebellion and echoing the actions of neighboring regions.

"Therefore, Uncle Jiao knows the root cause. As you also know, as long as the local people of Guangxi are treated fairly, as long as they are treated well and can survive, they will not rebel. If they can live a good life, they will also be loyal to the monarch and protect the country."

“You know, do you think the ministers in the court don’t know?” Jiao Tong said, “But who can solve it, and who dares to solve it?”

He said, "Do you know how many ethnic groups there are in Guangxi? Some villages and hamlets are separated by only one mountain and belong to different ethnic groups with different customs. The chieftains are different, and the attitudes of the ethnic minorities towards the chieftains are also different. Do you know what kind of people the officials sent to Liuzhou Prefecture are?"

Jiao Tongdao said, "The vast majority of them were demoted for committing crimes. If this is the case for officials in Liuzhou Prefecture, let alone other counties and prefectures in Guangxi. If we want to govern this place well, we need people with great wisdom."

“And who with great wisdom would come to serve as an official in Guangdong and Guangxi?” Jiao Tong pointed to himself and said, “I came to Lingnan because I petitioned for justice for your uncle. Wang Zhen was in power, so he demoted me here. I was originally going to Hunan and Hubei, both of which are lands of fish and rice.”

“If it were possible, I wouldn’t want to come here either,” Jiao Tong said. “If I feel this way, what about others?”

Xue Shao remained silent.

“Therefore, I do not agree with you taking action against Cao Rong,” Jiao Tong said in a deep voice. “If you take action against Cao Rong, there is a 70% chance that Guangdong will descend into chaos.”

Xue Shao said, "If Cao Rong continues to stay in this position, there's an 80% chance that Guangdong will descend into chaos."

Jiao Tong narrowed his eyes slightly: "What do you want to do?"

Xue Shao said, "Cao Rong is arrogant, embezzles salaries, and seizes military farmland. I don't believe the military households here don't resent him. These hundreds of thousands of military households are the ones who have more contact with the local people. They have lived here for three generations, and many of them must have intermarried with the local people, right?"

Jiao Tong exclaimed in shock: "Are you out of your mind?"

Xue Shao said in a deep voice, "Uncle Jiao, you can't help me, but at least please don't obstruct me!"

“I am the Guangdong Provincial Governor,” Jiao Tong said with a stern face. “If chaos breaks out in Guangdong, I will be the first to bear the brunt. You expect me not to obstruct you?”

"Uncle, you've forgotten the root cause again. If the people are so angry, then eliminating the reason for their anger will calm them down, won't it?" Xue Shao said. "At the same time, Guangdong can also remove a major cancer and a string of smaller ones." (End of Chapter)