The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 167: Eastern Tour to Shangluo

"How winding the green mud is! It winds around the rocks and mountains with nine turns in a hundred steps. I touch the stars and the wells, and breathe heavily on my back. I place my hand on my chest and sigh deeply."

"Flying turbulent waterfalls are noisy, and the cliffs turn rocks and thunder."

"antiquity……"

The smoke and clouds of the Warring States period have disappeared, but the majestic Qingni Ridge and the ruins of the pre-Qin period still stretch across the mountains between Bashu, Qin and Long. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the men and women accompanying the emperor spoke eloquently. On the ninth day of the second month, after arranging the work of guarding the house, the saint began his first eastern tour after Emperor Dezong. The destination is Jinshang. After hiding for so long, it's time to show up.

A noisy team of more than 30,000 people walked on the rugged goat trail. On the hill, beside the Taokuo stone covered with ivy, the saint was working urgently. The capital reported that the Taiwei who was inspecting the military farm in Weibei suddenly lost consciousness and had a crooked mouth. Gao Mingyue, the medicine officer of the Ye Ting Division, participated in the consultation and determined that it was a stroke.

This day was expected by him. First, he was in charge of the Duzhi, Salt and Iron, Changping, Transportation, Tea and Wine, Minting, Renting, Green Seedlings, and Yanziku, and was also in charge of some key affairs. The intensity was difficult for even a strong man to handle. Second, since the Chaos, the court officials who still "thought of the Han Dynasty" were somewhat mentally ill because of the atmosphere of the country's demise. The former prime minister Kong Wei retired and fell ill at home and refused to take medicine. He kept saying that he would die if he died; but he didn't expect it to come so soon.

The saint's face showed a very calm expression. Now was not the time to be sad.

But he was confused, he couldn't think of anyone who could take over Du Rangneng. This position is either OK or not. Looking around the court, he didn't see anyone who had this ability. Do it himself? Don't be kidding, I'm too busy. Thinking of the faces of some ministers, he was even more angry. Du Rangneng had just suffered a stroke, and there were more than a dozen impeachment letters against him. It was strange, since the old thief had done so many bad things, why didn't he complain before?

Li knew what the old man was like. But Du Rangneng had offended too many people during his ten years in power. He proposed to cut the rewards for the warriors, which displeased the military leaders such as Wang Congxun, Zhao Fu, and Zha Zhu. He reduced the material supply to the royal family, which caused the kings and princesses to curse him. He cut the salaries of county officials, which made the local governments spurn him. He repeatedly sent envoys to the Jiedushi to urge them to pay tribute, which was resented by the vassal states.

In order to ensure smooth transportation of goods to Beijing, he flattered Zhu Quanzhong's civil and military achievements, which made people despise him. He dealt with a group of corrupt officials in the Sansi system, and was cursed by his subordinates. He openly arranged his son-in-law Li Qun to the position of Minister of Agriculture, which offended the Censorate.

He borrowed the emperor's private money from Yuwen Rou, the inner manor house envoy Wenren Chuchu, and the left treasury envoy Zhang Chengye, but never paid it back. He cheated on Rounu who came to collect the debt, and he pushed it back today, which made Rounu scold him as an old fool. Even the imperial concubines hated him because he had persuaded the emperor to release a group of palace maids several times.

Once the old man was dismissed from his post, the emperor lost a trustworthy person in the court.

Although most warriors are unruly and cruel, there are also many disgusting scholars, but the proportion is lower. Not to mention Zhao Guangfeng, a doctor of the Ministry of Shrines, and Yao Zi, a Hanlin scholar, who were arrested and executed by the Inspector General Han Yi when they were unable to flee to Bian a few years ago, recently a You Shiyi named Zhang Daogu scolded him: "You have been on the throne for five years but you don't know how to rule. The territory of the previous dynasty is almost gone. I feel sorry that Your Majesty was first manipulated by treacherous ministers and finally owned by traitorous ministers."

Zhang Daogu humiliated him so much, but he could not come up with a plan. What did you do to make Li so unbearable? Another example is Wei Yifan, the Minister of Works, who was weird at the banquet and pointed the finger at the Privy Councilor. He sent people to investigate and married the seventh room Run.

Those who study hard to prepare for the imperial examinations and aspire to serve the saints and live for the people are rare. Those who study the books of saints and sages, seek a thousand bushels of grain, a beautiful wife, a golden house, and seek generous treatment from the court are the mainstream of politics.

At this time, Du had a stroke, and the outside court began to fight overtly and covertly, all wanting to grab the lucrative positions of various departments such as Duzhi, Yantie, Changping, Zhuanyun, Tea and Wine, Minting, Zuyong, Qingmiao, and Yanziku. In addition, Liu Chongwang had already gradually faded out of the court due to long-term illness, and Li's administrative managers were only Li Xi and Zheng Yanchang. This was not good, and it would be better to nominate two or three more.

Or split the positions. This involves the issue of power distribution and restriction, which is equivalent to reconstructing the central and local fiscal system. How to do it specifically still needs to be discussed.

Oh, don't forget to let Zheng Yanchang and Li Xi manage the officials. How could a fool like Zhang Daogu still be able to stay in the Secretariat and get paid leisurely? And Wei Yifan, the Minister of Works, who went beyond his post to speak out, was he blind? Did he have to personally issue an order to demote these two idiots?
This is a bit of a mouthful - in the Tang Dynasty, when the emperor had a conflict with a minister below the prime minister, the emperor himself would generally not intervene. The Baima Order drafted by the emperor as the Zhizhigao was only used for major matters such as appointing prime ministers, conquering, and depriving of power. In other words, it was too cheap to publicly punish middle and lower-level officials by internal orders. So if they didn't like someone, they would give the prime minister a heads-up during the "Yanying Zoudu". They would handle it themselves - the Zhongshu Province would then draft an external order based on the prime minister's "instructions" and announce the decision. Of course, if the emperor was in a state of blood and anger, the situation would be different. For example, a certain Dezong who was broken by Lu Zhi's words "trampled officials and dumped money. He fooled the court like a child. He didn't reward his merits, but took bribes for fun, which greatly frustrated his hope for a new life, and he was quite loyal to his country. So he was ridiculed by people in public, and the soldiers began to resent him."

It's all over!
The old men of the mid-Tang Dynasty are gradually dying out, and the civil officials of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms are about to appear on the stage one after another.

On February 12, the imperial carriage arrived at Shangluo County, Shangzhou.

The imperial court temporarily designated one or more states as its jurisdiction for strategic or economic purposes and sent people to guard the defense envoys. Their powers and treatment were lower than those of the Jiedushi. They were not given the title of envoy or prime minister, nor were they granted the title of a county king. They were not officials of the Three Dukes or the Three Provinces. Due to their special nature, their appointment and abolition were uncertain.

Jinshang Town is such a product.

When the An-Shi Rebellion broke out, Emperor Xuanzong appointed the governor of Jingji, who was in charge of four states: Jingzhao, Qi, Tong, Jin, and Shang. After An Lushan captured Tongguan, he was changed to the governor of Xingping, who was in charge of four states: Jin, Shang, Jun, and Fang, and prevented the rebels from taking Xiangyang from the west. When Emperor Suzong came to power, he was changed to the defense envoy of the four states inside and outside Wuguan. As the name suggests, he prevented the rebels from sneaking across Wuguan. When Emperor Daizong ascended the throne, he also served as the censor. At its peak, he once controlled more than ten states in Weinan and Weibei, and was called the governor of Jingji, Weinan, Jinshang and other states, as a counterbalance to the Shuofang Army's camp that went straight into Guanzhong. It was not until the death of Guo Ziyi in the early years of Emperor Dezong that the Shuofang Army was basically dismembered, and the defense envoy ended his mission and was demoted.

After the Chaos Rebellion, with the deliberate support of the court, Feng Xingxi, a lieutenant of the Shandong Army, defended against the Jinshang and took over the three states of Jin, Shang and Jun as a nail to resist the Cai army that was invading the west and to prevent the Shu people who were in high spirits from going east. Its scope was roughly the area east of Ankang City, Shaanxi Province, southeast of Lantian County, north of Shiyan City, Hubei Province, west of Xiangyang City, and south of Lushi County, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province.

Is it a big town?

That depends on who you are comparing with. Compared with Bian, Qi, Zhao, Wei, and Yan, it is definitely not as good, but compared with the towns in the northwest of Beijing, it is of the same level. Li Maozhen in the northwest of Beijing occupies one prefecture and two states in Fengxiang, Wang Xingyu occupies three states in Binningqing, and Han Jian occupies one state in Hua. They all dare to call the shots and invade the palace, and want to have a chance to become the Shangfu and Shangshuling. Correspondingly, Feng Xingxi also has ambitions, and they are not small. However, the terrain of Wuguan Road restricts him.

If it happened on the plains, he would definitely be among those who bullied the royal family.

Why? When Zhaozong was besieged in Fengxiang, the eunuchs sent more than 20 envoys to the south to ask for reinforcements. All of them were killed when they passed through his jurisdiction, and their heads were sent to Zhu Quanzhong together with the imperial edict. No, how did Li do you wrong? After doing this, Feng asked for the surname Zhu - applying to be Zhu Quanzhong's son. Quanzhong attacked Zhao Kuangning, and he took the initiative to send troops to join the battle before he was given an order.

He is truly loyal!
Even the historians of the Five Dynasties could not help but say that he was "strict by nature and profound in his administration. Although he held the power and wealth, he always tried his best to serve the royal family, so he was able to preserve his reputation." - "When the Tang Dynasty declined, he knew that the Liang Dynasty would rise, so he devoted himself to serving the Liang Dynasty."

Translation? - Don't think he's bad, but he's an excellent lackey. When he saw that the Tang Dynasty was in trouble, he immediately devoted himself to serving Zhu Wen. So when you grow old, learn from him! Well, after Zhu Wen usurped the Tang Dynasty, he himself felt that this man was too disgusting, so he took him to Bianliang - "died in office." He took back the surname Zhu. Even Zhu Sheng, who was always hungry and indiscriminate, didn't dare to accept the loyalty of such a person.

The superior hates it.

This time it depends on whether he can handle things. If everything goes well, he can be a retired official, and then one day he will be sent to the Western Regions, die in the great cause of conquering the barbarians, and achieve a good reputation, or he will be "died in office" by someone named Li. If things go wrong, the whole family will be exterminated, the main line will be killed, and the remaining males will be castrated and sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The female relatives will be awarded to the warriors as those damn camp prostitutes.

——Although he had always been upright. When he saw the sage had promoted Fengxiang, he immediately went to the court to meet him and left his son in Chang'an as a hostage.

(End of this chapter)