The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 254: Anti-corruption and Crowning the King

Huang Yaoshi immediately understood what Guo Jing meant, "Your Majesty, do you want to divide the country into different territories like the Mongols did?"

The Mongolian feudal system had the same pioneering meaning as the Zhou emperor's feudal system. However, the feudal system of successive dynasties in the Central Plains later evolved into internal strife among the royal family, with everyone killing each other. There was the Rebellion of Seven Kings in the Western Han Dynasty and the Rebellion of Eight Kings in the Western Jin Dynasty, which caused great harm to the country to varying degrees.

The feudal system that Guo Jing was thinking of was based on the Mongolian and Western Zhou dynasties. It was only for external use, not internal use. Royal family members were given fiefs at the border to help them expand and advance, to prevent the royal family from becoming a financial burden on the court. Moreover, these royal princes also strengthened the Guo family's royal family's strength to prevent internal strife.

"Yes, throughout the ages, the country has had limited arable land, but the population has been growing. Coupled with the increasing annexation of land, a hundred years later, the poor will have almost no place to stand, leading to civil unrest."

"The princes are pioneering and enterprising, which is also to relieve the pressure on the court and divert the population." Guo Jing ordered someone to open the map on the table. "Look, Prime Minister, I ordered someone to secretly draw a map of Mongolia. The land they occupy is several times that of our Great Zhou. How many people can they support?"

"The state cannot intervene in matters of development. Instead, the princes can take on the heavy responsibility to prevent the country from being dragged into the quagmire of war."

Huang Yaoshi walked forward and stared at the map, his pupils dilated uncontrollably. On this map, Mongolia's territory spanned tens of thousands of miles, while the Great Zhou only existed in a corner, which was less than one-third the size of Mongolia's territory.

This was extremely shocking. The world was so big that it was far beyond his imagination. If the Central Plains just stayed complacent in the future, the changes in the future would be far beyond their imagination.

He looked at the western coast and said with emotion, "It turns out that Genghis Khan has fought so far."

Guo Jing nodded and pointed at the words marked on the map. "Many of the countries in the Western Regions have never been recorded in our history books. The Tubo and Arab Empires that fought against the Tang Dynasty hundreds of years ago have disappeared. Persia was also defeated by Mongolia. The Kushan Empire and Parthia Empire have long been lost in history."

"The names of countries like Austria, France and Hungary have never appeared in history books. The Silk Road has existed since the Han Dynasty thousands of years ago, but we have never thought of going to see the end of the Silk Road."

"This Western Expedition has allowed me to see many different capitals. They have different cultural customs, but in my opinion, they are far inferior to our Han people."

"Outside these territories, there are still vast tracts of land that have not been taken by Mongolia. To the north, it is the world of Mongolia, but to the south, there are still large tracts of land, such as Dai Viet and other countries. These places have been repeatedly conquered for hundreds of years. The mountains are high and the roads are long, making them difficult to conquer. If they are suppressed by the princes, they will become Han territory again in a hundred years. This is no different from expanding the territory."

Huang Yaoshi was still digesting Guo Jing's words. After a long while, he let out a long sigh, "Your Majesty is right. Sending the princes to guard the local areas does not consume the national finances, and it can also be used for pioneering and enterprising. It can be said to be a two-birds-with-one-stone approach."

"However, if the prince becomes powerful and raises an army to rebel, I am afraid he will be suspected of separatism."

Guo Jing smiled casually, not taking it seriously. "The Central Plains is a thousand miles of fertile land, with tens of millions of people. If they are really destroyed by the princes, then they deserve it. We should believe in the wisdom of future generations."

The meat is all rotting in the pot, there is nothing to be afraid of.

Zhu Yuanzhang of later generations also thought so, but among the princes there was Zhu Di. Since the establishment of the imperial system, he was the only prince who rebelled and overthrew the central court. Therefore, the prince system he established was directly dismantled by Zhu Di, resulting in the bloated royal family of the Ming Dynasty, which brought a huge burden to the Ming Dynasty's finances.

In fact, even if Zhu Biao had not died after Zhu Yuanzhang's death, he would definitely have started to reduce the power of the princes. With a large number of princes holding heavy troops in the north, which emperor would not have considered it?

But if the kingship was placed on the southern border, there would be no need for the Mu Palace, and the descendants of the Zhu family would not be able to threaten the central imperial power by expanding outward. Unfortunately, it was missed, and the Ming Dynasty, which had the greatest potential for expansion, was directly cut in half.

"I hope Your Majesty will forgive my humble opinion."

"No problem." Guo Jing waved his hand casually, not taking it to heart.

……

In the next half month, Guo Jing continued to summon court officials to learn about state affairs. At the same time, the Eagle Guards continued to report the news they had discovered, allowing Guo Jing to quickly integrate into the court environment.

In any case, he was the founding monarch, and he had a group of veteran ministers holding important positions under him. Even if he had been away for more than four years, he could easily control the government after he returned.

In Ganlu Palace, Guo Jing sat on the throne with a cold expression as he threw a stack of evidence of officials' corruption and disregard for human life in front of many high-ranking officials.

"Investigate. The Dali Temple, the Censorate, and the Eagle Guards should investigate together. You all know how Song Si was destroyed. The world has only been peaceful for a few days, and you have forgotten the hard times before. Take a look!"

Officials from the Dali Temple and other government offices were so frightened that they fell to their knees on the spot. Thunder, lightning, rain and dew were all grace from the emperor, and everyone was mentally prepared for changes in the political situation when Guo Jing returned, but they did not expect that a major case would be uncovered right from the start.

Fighting corruption and promoting integrity is politically correct in any dynasty. Even if those in power intend to indulge in it, they will not say it openly. Obviously, during the four years of peace in the country, many corrupt officials have emerged.

Pei Andao picked up the evidence on the case and looked at it slowly. The more he looked, the more surprised he was. As the head of the third department of the Prime Minister's Finance Department, he knew that there were people in the officialdom who were corrupt, but he didn't expect there would be so many.

Facing the emperor's sharp eyes, he trembled in his heart and quickly pleaded guilty, "Your Majesty, I am guilty. Please calm down!"

Seeing that he looked unhappy, everyone picked up the evidence on the table and started to look at it.

"What? Wang An passed the imperial examination last year, and he embezzled five thousand taels of silver in just one year?"

"Li Xuan was a Jinshi in the first year of Shenwu, and he had a very good reputation among local officials. How could he have embezzled so much? Your Majesty, is there something fishy about this?"

……

Looking at the various evidences above, the court officials were in disbelief for a moment.

However, the next words made their expressions change again.

"Whether it is true or not, we will tell you after we check it out. Your opinion does not count. Each government office shall hand in its account books and rosters for the Sansi and Dali Temple to check, and the Eagle Guards shall carry out the inspection. In addition, the Eagle Guards shall open the imperial prison and detain these government offices separately, separating them from the criminals."

A domineering aura came over them, and they even sensed a strong murderous intent from Guo Jing's voice.

Seeing that the emperor was determined to investigate the case, many important officials had no choice but to agree.

That afternoon, the Eagle Guards cooperated with the Imperial Guards to seal off all government offices. The three courts conducted cross-examinations with the government offices, and the anti-corruption case of the Shenwu Dynasty began. From that day on, every few days, the heads of people killed in the Caishikou of Luoyang West Market would roll in, and every day the imperial envoys would go to the local prefectures and counties to inspect and arrest people.

For Guo Jing, there is no such thing as leniency outside the law, no such thing as governing the world together with the literati, let alone not killing the literati. To him, no one can be killed and no official cannot be removed.

There is no way around it. The official system itself has large loopholes, and the emperor must be there to balance and fill in the gaps. In this regard, the emperor naturally stands on the opposite side of the officials, and it is even less likely that the officials can use any moral advice.

As for the ancestral law, I'm sorry, he, Guo Jing, is the ancestor, he, Guo Jing, is the law.

After the corrupt officials were beheaded and their property was confiscated, Guo Jing ordered people to carve their deeds of corruption on a stele and place it outside the Imperial Examination Hall to warn the scholars taking the imperial examinations. This was a heart-breaking act. Once the facts were uncovered, not only would his own reputation be ruined, but his family would also be implicated.

For a time, the atmosphere in the government and the country changed drastically, and local officials followed suit, becoming much more restrained.

This went on for several months before this major anti-corruption case began. Thousands of heads had been chopped off at the Caishikou in Luoyang West Market, and tens of thousands of family members had been exiled to the border.

In the Purple Palace, Guo Jing stood on the steps and said to Guo Chengping below, "Ping'er, do you understand now?"

Guo Chengping lowered his head and said, "I understand, kid."

Seeing this, Guo Jing smiled, "No, you don't understand, come with me." After that, he walked down the steps, took Guo Chengping's hand and came to the wide area outside the palace, where they could see hundreds of steps below.

"You can't govern the country with strictness or leniency. You need to relax and tighten your belt, and the civil and military affairs will be improved. I understand that you have worked hard to support the overall situation in the past few years, but you must know the principle of protecting each other among officials."

"The Censorate and the Dali Temple are official supervision agencies. It is impossible to expect them to investigate themselves. Official corruption can be big or small, but once the atmosphere changes, it is not so easy to reverse it. If the upper level follows the lower level, the country will be in tatters."

Guo Chengping looked very similar to Guo Jing, but he was less experienced and still looked a little green. "But father, the killing was too severe this time. More than 10% of the officials in the prefectures and counties are vacant. Even some government offices are empty."

"To correct a wrong, one must go too far. In troubled times, one must use severe punishments. Don't worry that the officials below will become disloyal to the court. It's hard to find a three-legged frog in this world, but there are countless people who want to be officials. I, Guo Jing, am not Zhao Zhen, and my Great Zhou is not the Great Song. This is the path that a country must take in its development. Only by cutting off the rotten meat can we move forward with ease."

Guo Chengping thought for a moment, and then continued, "Father, harsh punishments only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. Throughout the ages, corruption has never been eradicated. This can only be effective for a while, but not forever."

Guo Jing's eyes showed relief. "Yes, I can't manage it forever, but if I can't manage it, can I just stop doing it? With the performance evaluation system, the court can reduce the number of mediocre officials in office, but corrupt officials are undermining the foundation of the country, and the corruption of the government is caused by this."

"If the imperial court is to be reformed in the future, the civil service must be reformed first. The Great Zhou is far from being stable. I am the founding monarch. There are some things that only I can do. The rest will be left to you and future monarchs."

"My son understands!"

……

Not long after, an official suggested that the princes were old and should be granted titles to strengthen the royal family and demonstrate the dignity of the royal family.

Guo Jing readily agreed and made the matter of enfeoffment public, which immediately caused an uproar. Over the past hundred years, the imperial court's enfeoffment of the royal family was mostly empty, and the royal family was treated like pigs. The so-called military power and financial power did not exist.

But many officials were puzzled by Guo Jing's move to confer the title of king. However, as the prime minister, the three ministries, the privy council and other important officials expressed their support, the matter of conferring the title of king was carried out.

Except for Guo Cheng'an, the second eldest son, and the prince who was under 18 years old, the rest of the princes were granted titles, and their fiefs were in the former Dai Viet and the barbarian lands.

This act of crowning the king also cut off the support of those powerful families. Even though Guo Chengping was made the crown prince early on, the mothers' families of those adult princes were still secretly eyeing the position of the crown prince. In this way, the inheritance of the throne came to an end.

Soon, the news of the crown prince spread in Luoyang. Even the common people were curious about why the court threw the prince to those barbarian lands, and the scholars wrote articles to discuss it.

The harem was even more restless at this time. Guo Jing's concubines came to his door one after another to cry and complain that they were unwilling to let their offspring be enfeoffed to that foreign land. However, Guo Jing was determined to carry out this matter, and those concubines could not shake his mind at all.

At this time, Guo Jing was accompanying Hua Zheng in the palace. The death of Genghis Khan dealt her a great blow, and even made Guo Jing feel sad for a time. In his mind, in addition to his teacher, Genghis Khan was also one of his guides in life.

He used to be Guo Jing's target, and the same was true after he became emperor. Now, this target has fallen, but the Mongolian territory and pioneering spirit he left behind still benefit him a lot.

……

Time passed quickly, and the sixth year of Shenwu came quietly. At the beginning of spring, Mongolian envoys arrived in Luoyang.

Guo Jing personally met with the Mongolian envoys at the court meeting and formed an alliance with Mongolia. The two sides exchanged trade routes and lived in friendship. Among the envoys, Ogedei's confidants also sent letters, and their words were full of intentions to win over Mongolia.

In fact, Guo Jing did not consider himself a Mongolian, but in the eyes of the Mongolians, he, as the son-in-law of the emperor, was also a member of the Golden Family, he just seemed a little different.

After all, he made great contributions at the beginning of the establishment of Mongolia, and later made great efforts in the war to destroy the Jin Dynasty. He was even more brilliant in the Western Expedition, making the Han cavalry famous in the world. But he also had a more important identity, that is, the anda of the fourth Mongolian prince Tolui.

Tolui is the most powerful among the Mongolian kings, but if Guo Jing is added, the two brothers working together are enough to sweep away the remaining Mongolian princes. Faced with such a combination, Ogedei naturally wants to win them over.

It can be said that as long as he could deal with Tolui and the other two, his position as Khan would be secure.

When Guo Jing saw the letter, he just smiled and wrote a reply to him and asked someone to take it back. He still hadn't figured out the civil strife during the Western Expedition. According to reports from spies, the political situation in Karakorum was still unstable and unpredictable.

After the two sides formed an alliance, Guo Jing announced the covenant to the world. From kings and nobles to peddlers, everyone was talking about it, and it made even more noise than the previous crowning of the king.

Mongolia was too powerful, and the North was facing heavy military pressure, whether or not there was Yanyun as a barrier. Once the alliance was reached, the two sides could trade and coexist. The people in the north could finally breathe a sigh of relief, and no longer had to worry about the grassland people invading at any time.

(End of this chapter)