Late Han Zhao Tang

In November, officials from various prefectures and counties went to Chang'an to report on the population and tax situation for the year to the Imperial Secretariat. Because the country was just beginning to be at peace, Zhang Yu ordered the Imperial Secretariat to re-verify the population of the prefectures and counties in order to understand the current number of registered people.

Furthermore, Zhang Yu issued an edict to re-grant titles to civil and military officials in the court.

Because Chancellor Zhong Yao was enfeoffed as Duke of Xia at the beginning of the year, the enfeoffment of titles was concentrated on civil officials such as Du Ji, Yu Yi, Xun You, Guo Tu, Dong Zhao, and Wang Chen, as well as military generals who had not participated in the southern expedition.

Yu Yi followed Zhang Yu for nearly twenty years, taking charge of the imperial budget. He was one of only two civil officials to be granted the title of Duke of Han, and his fiefdom was the lowest among the dukes, consisting of about 7,000 households and 300 households.

Du Ji, Xun You, Guo Tu, Wang Chen, and Lü Fan were granted the title of Duke of a Commandery, based on their respective hometown commanderies. Dong Zhao, Xin Pi, Yang Jun, and others were granted the title of Duke of a County, also based on their respective hometown counties. If any of the enfeoffed individuals had a conflict with their hometown, they would be granted the title of Duke of a neighboring commandery or county.

Although changing a fief to a principality reduced the income from the fief, the improved title and the higher level of privileges one could enjoy made up for it. Therefore, some people sought various connections in order to squeeze into the ranks of dukes, but because so many ministers were involved, requests were almost useless.

After the edict granting titles was issued, the officials were overjoyed. The following day at court, some donned ducal robes, much to the envy of the marquises. Many, driven by ambition and greed, privately complained about the unfairness of the title adjustment, but since Zhang Yu's criteria for bestowing titles were traceable, their complaints were more akin to jealousy.

Under the five-rank nobility system, dukes of prefectures and counties envied dukes of the state, marquises envied dukes, and earls envied marquises. Some lamented that they had not met a wise ruler sooner, or that they had not worked harder in the past.

Not long after the change of titles, the envoy from Jiaozhou finally arrived in Chang'an, weary from his journey.

"Your servant Shi Xin pays his respects to Your Majesty. I have not failed Your Majesty's previous mission and have persuaded the sovereign and father to surrender the state!" Shi Xin performed the kowtow and kneeling ceremony.

Zhang Yu, seemingly supporting himself in mid-air, laughed and said, "You have rendered meritorious service in persuading them to surrender, and I shall reward you handsomely. I wonder when your father will come to court?"

“Your Majesty, my father has welcomed General Gao into the mountains, and now he and my uncle are on their way north. Fearing that Your Majesty is unaware of the current situation in Jiaozhou, I have specially ordered you to travel day and night and to first present the household registers of the seven prefectures of Jiaozhou to Your Majesty.”

As he spoke, Shi Xin handed the three scrolls of bamboo slips to his attendant to present them.

Zhang Yu unfolded the bamboo slips and saw that the household registration and population of the seven prefectures and fifty-one counties were all written on the slips.

"There are 83,100 households, with a total population of 416,000 men and women."

After a cursory glance at the data on the bamboo slips, Zhang Yu asked, "Are there more than 400,000 registered Han people in Jiaozhou?"

“Your Majesty, the registered people are those who pay taxes; refugees, ethnic minorities, or hidden households of powerful clans are not included,” Shi Xin said.

"I have heard that the Shi clan dominates Jiaozhou, and their servants are like an army. I wonder if there are any records of this?" Zhang Yu asked with a smile.

Shi Xin, unaware of Zhang Yu's purpose in asking the question, became nervous and said, "My father was in charge of the seven prefectures of Jiaozhou, and had to recruit soldiers and horses to form his own retinue, so he was not registered in the household register. There are many clans in Jiaozhou, whose power is comparable to that of the ruler, and whose wealth exceeds that of the public house. Servants and followers have privately attached themselves to the people or exceeded the registered population."

Jiaozhou encompassed the Red River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the Guangxi Basin in later times. The former two regions were fertile and rich in resources. In an agricultural society, the Annam region alone could support millions of people. Therefore, Zhang Yu had considerable objections to the household registration data presented by Jiaozhou.

Shi Xin provided a detailed explanation: Jiaozhou was a powerful local region with a vast number of retainers and servants, far exceeding the population of the government. Zhang Yu largely agreed, noting that Jiaozhou had many barbarian tribes, and the Han people possessed armed forces, enabling them to enslave large numbers of people.

Zhang Yu asked, "Jiaozhou is rife with bandits and powerful clans. The imperial court intends to govern Jiaozhou. What are your thoughts on this?"

Shi Xin hesitated for a long time before saying, "The people of Jiaozhou are complex. When my father governed Jiaozhou, he won over the clan leaders and recruited them as officials, allowing them to lead troops. If Your Majesty wishes to govern Jiaozhou, I fear I cannot answer your questions. It would be better to wait until my father arrives in Chang'an, and Your Majesty can summon him for questioning."

As he spoke, Shi Xin recited the geography and said, “Your Majesty, Jiaozhou has a complex geography. Ships can reach the South China Sea via the Ling Canal, but the mountains between the South China Sea and Jiaozhi make the mountain roads difficult to travel. In addition, there are many barbarian tribes in the area. Therefore, the region is usually connected by sea. By passing through Hepu Ferry, one can sail from the South China Sea to Jiaozhi, and conversely, one can go north to reach the South China Sea Commandery.”

"Therefore, Your Majesty wishes to govern Jiaozhou and see if it is possible to build a major road and subdue the barbarian tribes along the way in order to prevent the rebellion of the clansmen. Moreover, there are rebels in Rinan County. Qu Lian, a man from Xianglin County, killed the chieftain and established himself as king. His descendants have succeeded him to this day. They often send troops to plunder Rinan and Jiuzhen in the north."

Jiaozhou is characterized by its mountainous terrain, making land travel extremely difficult. Sea travel, on the other hand, is much easier. Therefore, during the Han Dynasty, Hepu Prefecture was established on the Leizhou Peninsula to facilitate sea travel.

"good!"

Zhang Yu knew what was going on and said with a smile, "You have been traveling hard, so please go and rest first. I will summon you all together when your father arrives in Chang'an."

"Yes, sir!" After Shi Xin took his leave, Zhang Yu looked at Lü Fan and asked, "What do you think of Jiaozhou?"

After a moment's thought, Lü Fan said, "Jiaozhi and Nanhai prefectures have thousands of acres of fertile land and a large population. However, the laws of the Later Han Dynasty have been lax, allowing clan bandits to grow stronger and wreak havoc on the region. Therefore, to secure Jiaozhou, we must eliminate these clan bandits and verify the population registers. Furthermore, Jiaozhou is mountainous with numerous Yi tribes, making the roads difficult to traverse. Thus, we should establish post stations to facilitate the court's long-distance governance!"

Zhang Yu asked with a smile, "Zixun submitted a memorial a few days ago, saying that he is not used to the climate and water of Lingnan and may find it difficult to govern Lingnan for the court for long. I wonder if you have any thoughts on how to make a difference?"

Without hesitation, Lü Fan replied, "Your Majesty wishes to secure Jiaozhou, and I am willing to go south to achieve merit!"

"good!"

Zhang Yu said in a low voice, "If you can achieve great success in Lingnan, I will never let you down!"

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!"

At the beginning of Zhang Yu's career, Lü Fan did dirty work for Zhang Yu, offending many people. In particular, the punishment of Wang Hong in Guanzhong that year made Lü Fan quite ostracized in the court.

Therefore, Zhang Yu never forgot the merits that Lü Fan had made in the past. Now, Jiaozhou happens to need a person who is both civil and military, and Zhang Yu is willing to give Lü Fan a merit.

"On this trip south, you have been appointed Governor of Jiaozhou, General of Annam, and Commander-in-Chief of the troops of all prefectures."

Lu Fan asked in surprise, "Your Majesty previously intended to appoint the Governor of Jiaozhou to assist General Gao in securing the borders, but now you've appointed me as the Governor of Jiaozhou?"

Zhang Yu laughed a few times, patted Lü Fan on the shoulder, and said, "The reason I appointed you as governor was because I was afraid that Zixun was not good at civil administration. You are good at both civil and military affairs and are a high-ranking official in the court. If I do not appoint you as governor, wouldn't that be unfair to Ziheng?"

In terms of trust between the ruler and his ministers, Lü Fan, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Hao Zhao were in the same tier. Therefore, Zhang Yu would not treat these trusted confidants harshly. After all, Lü Fan was currently serving as the Commandant of the Capital Region, and it would be too shabby for him to concurrently serve as the Governor of Jiaozhou. It would be better to go straight to the position of Governor of Jiaozhou.

"I, Fan, will do my utmost to pacify Jiaoling for Your Majesty!" Lü Fan knelt to receive the order and said gratefully.

"You're too polite!"

Zhang Yu helped Lü Fan up and instructed him, "There are many barbarians and few Han Chinese in Jiaoling, and their customs are very different from those in the Central Plains. When the barbarians cause trouble, the government can get help from powerful local families. Therefore, the powerful local families must be suppressed, but they cannot be ignored either. If there are any virtuous and capable people, they can be recommended for official positions. Jiaozhi and Jiuzhen are adjacent to the border and far away from the Central Plains, so I hope you can handle them well."

As previously mentioned, the key to Annam's independence lay in the fact that local elites were not given important positions by the central government and had been serving in their local posts for a long time, which fostered a strong sense of localism. As a result, local elites lacked a sense of a unified country.

Another key factor in Annam's independence was the failure of the Li Tang dynasty to defend Annam and the military incompetence of the Northern Song dynasty.

The Kingdom of Lin-yi was established at the end of the Han Dynasty and frequently invaded Annam for the next few centuries. Despite its large population and economy, Annam suffered from a lack of armed protection, resulting in its people being frequently plundered.

Although the Li Tang dynasty was able to defeat the invasions of Lin-yi each time, they were unwilling to govern Lin-yi due to the high cost of rule. As a result, the people suffered huge property losses, and the Annamese were greatly disturbed, which led to discontent.

Subsequently, Nanzhao launched a large-scale raid on Annam. After the Tang dynasty defeated Nanzhao, it established the Jiedushi system in Annam, recruited soldiers locally, and established the Jinghai Army Town.

In conclusion, there are many reasons for Annam's independence, among which the most crucial are the lack of a unified ideology, the failure to receive adequate military protection, and the local elites' lack of recognition of the Central Plains dynasty.

Therefore, for Zhang Yu, he had to ensure the political security of the powerful clans in Jiaozhou and suppress the powerful local forces in order to ensure the long-term rule of the government.

Lü Fan, having a general idea of ​​Zhang Yu's intentions, cupped his hands and said, "The administration of Jiaozhou lies in the combination of kindness and severity. If Your Majesty trusts me, please grant me the authority to appoint officials."

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Abolishing the power of prefectures and counties to appoint officials is a national policy, which I cannot disobey. However, due to the different circumstances, if you wish to appoint officials, you may submit a memorial to the emperor, and I will comply without hesitation."

Thinking of something, Zhang Yu added: "The previous dynasty abandoned Zhuyai due to chaos. Now I have heard that Zhuyai Island is densely populated with tens of thousands of families. When you take up your post in Jiaozhou, see if you can rebuild Zhuyai Prefecture for the country."

"Fan Jinji will remember this!" (End of Chapter)