White-robed Minister

Chapter 204 0202 [Dragging Down the Team]

The impeachment proceedings by the censors began quickly.

Zhang Maoze, the eunuch, shifted the blame to the project manager, claiming that he had been deceived.

Song Changyan and Cheng Fang insisted that they had not deceived the eunuchs, maintaining that the water flowing eastward had reached eight-tenths of its original volume. To please their superiors, they had made thorough preparations in the official documents, and now it is impossible to determine the exact amount of water at that time.

The design of the Eastward Flow Project was certainly sound, since the emperor had approved it. Even Sima Guang supported the Eastward Flow plan, only stipulating that the eastward flow must reach eight-tenths of its capacity to completely block the northward flow.

If there are problems with the engineering design, then even Sima Guang is guilty!

Therefore, Wang Anshi and Zhang Gong, who formulated the plan, were also innocent.

These people are innocent, so how did the dam break?

It's normal for the Yellow River to breach its banks; this flood must be just too big.

Oh dear, the censors are still clinging to this issue, so let's investigate further. It turns out that the lower-level officials in charge of the river management are guilty, especially the person in charge of the section where the dike breached.

The scapegoat has been found!

Zhang Maoze, Zhang Gong, Song Changyan, Cheng Fang, and others were not punished; in fact, they were even commended for their meritorious service in river management.

The emperor and Wang Anshi were quite adept at handling both funerals and celebrations.

As for Sima Guang, he was dismissed from his post as Imperial Censor, but reinstated to positions such as Hanlin Academician—a promotion in name only, a demotion in reality.

This matter could not be discussed any further, because no evidence of wrongdoing could be found. The officials in charge of criticism were also somewhat confused; they did not know the truth and genuinely believed it was simply a natural disaster.

Regardless, Wang Anshi's failure in this flood control effort led to a significant drop in his political prestige. Unable to find evidence of wrongdoing by the officials in charge of flood control, the censors focused all their criticism on Wang Anshi.

Because public opinion could not be quelled, Zhao Xu promoted Sima Guang to the position of Deputy Privy Councilor in order to appease the officials who had spoken out against him.

Sima Guang refused the position, implying: I do not understand military affairs, so I will not serve as the Deputy Privy Councilor.

This is like Wang Anshi, who doesn't understand water conservancy but insists on talking big.

Wang Anshi really didn't understand water conservancy; he had only been involved in two water conservancy projects.

The first time was in the third year of the Qingli reign, when he was sent by Xu to investigate the Grand Canal. During the investigation, Wang Anshi actually returned to his hometown and did not go back to report.

The Huainan canal project was a success, but it had virtually no bearing on Wang Anshi. He either sent his research findings to Xu Shen, or Xu Shen sent others to conduct a new investigation. In any case, Wang Anshi was not involved in the follow-up work.

The second time was in the second year of the Jiayou era, when Wang Anshi initiated the Changzhou Canal project.

At that time, Sima Dan (Sima Guang's brother) advised, "Your project is too large and too rushed, and the people's strength simply cannot bear it."

If you divide the one-year project into two years and proceed in stages, you will definitely succeed.

Wang Anshi ignored the advice, resulting in excessive corvée labor and an autumn flood that killed many laborers, forcing the project to be abandoned halfway through.

Afterwards, Wang Anshi wrote to Liu Chang: "If one seeks to accomplish something and achieve something without considering the feasibility of timing and human effort, this is something I cannot do."

This statement reflects on one's own mistakes while simultaneously shifting blame to natural disasters.

Inside the main hall, the prime ministers and privy councilors gathered together.

Prime Ministers: Fu Bi, Zeng Gongliang, Chen Xu (Chen Shengzhi).

Deputy Prime Ministers: Zhao and Wang Anshi.

Privy Councilors: Wen Yanbo and Lü Gongbi.

Deputy Privy Councilor: Han Jiang.

This is the latest list of key officials in the central government.

In order to suppress his opponents, Wang Anshi forced Chen Xu to become prime minister after the Yellow River breached its banks.

Fu Bi remained silent, seemingly about to fall asleep.

Zeng Gongliang said, "The lands that Xu Lai has recovered require a continuous supply of money and grain. Currently, the money and grain for the Northwest are entirely dependent on the Shaanxi Transport Commissioner. However, the Shaanxi Transport Commissioner is far away in Chang'an and may find it difficult to respond quickly."

Wen Yanbo asked, "What does the Secretariat think should be done?"

Zeng Gongliang said, "We will divide Shaanxi into two routes: the Shaanxi East Route and the Shaanxi West Route. A transport commissioner will be appointed for the Shaanxi West Route to be in charge of the Qin-Feng, Jing-Yuan, Huan-Qing, and Fu-Yan routes, as well as the areas developed by Xu Lai."

"Road" and "road" are different.

Shaanxi Road belongs to the financial district and occasionally temporarily becomes a military district.

Qin Feng Road, Jing Yuan Road, Huan Qing Road, and Lang Yan Road, however, were more inclined towards the military administrative districts at the front lines. These areas had always been in a semi-independent financial state, lacking their own transport commissioners.

Lu Gongzhe strongly objected, saying, "If we divide it like this, the funds and provisions for Shaanxi West Circuit will simply not be enough."

Chen Xu offered a compromise: "It can be divided into two routes. A transport commissioner will be appointed for the eastern route of Shaanxi, and a deputy transport commissioner will be appointed for the western route of Shaanxi."

Wen Yanbo and Lü Gongzhuo still opposed it.

Han Jiang did not participate in the discussion.

Wang Anshi said, "The newly recovered land can be allocated to Qin-Feng Circuit. A transport commissioner should be appointed in Qin-Feng Circuit. This transport commissioner will be responsible for the grain and provisions of Qin-Feng Circuit, and also for the grain and provisions of Jing-Yuan Circuit."

This is a separate fiscal district that oversees Qinfeng Road, Jingyuan Road, and the newly restored area.

Han Jiang couldn't help but retort: ​​"Does Qin Feng Road have enough money and grain? If the Qin Feng Road transport commissioner is at odds with the Shaanxi transport commissioner, who will he ask for money and grain from then on?"

Wang Anshi then opted for a less desirable option: "Then we shall establish a Deputy Transport Commissioner in Qin-Feng Road, under the jurisdiction of the Shaanxi Transport Commissioner's Office."

Wen Yanbo and Lü Gongzhe still opposed it.

This issue can only be put on hold and brought to the court meeting to solicit more opinions from the ministers.

In the past, the emperor and Wang Anshi would have certainly made the decision, but now they are using it to attract attention and divert public opinion from the Yellow River breach—the officials have been impeaching the matter.

Next, let's discuss the second topic.

Wen Yanbo said, "The newly recovered land should be divided into four prefectures, and Tongyuan Army should also be converted into a prefecture."

This was to divide Xu Lai's power, directly establishing his garrison at Tongyuan Army, along with the newly conquered territory, as five prefectures. Five civil or military officials were appointed as prefects.

In this way, Xu Lai became the military commissioner, and there were several prefects below him to check and balance him.

The emperor finally spoke: "Xu Lai said in his memorial that the newly recovered territories are all operating at a loss, and that the Qiang people far outnumber the Han people. He suggested that the Tongyuan Army be established as two separate armies, and that the number of officials should not be too large."

Wen Yanbo said, "This is an attempt to seize power."

Zhao Xu was displeased upon hearing this. What did he mean by saying that Xu Lai wanted to seize power? He had just made a great contribution, and you were already starting to be suspicious of him?

Fu Bi, who had been silent, finally spoke up: "Five prefectures should be established. This is also for Xu Lai's sake; his contributions are too great. If power is not shared, it will surely invite criticism."

The same suggestion, but Fu Bi's version sounded even better, and Zhao Xu had no choice but to give it serious consideration.

Zhao Xu looked at Wang Anshi.

Wang Anshi said, "Five prefectures can be established."

The Song Dynasty not only guarded against military generals, but also against high-ranking officials on the frontier. No matter how intense the factional struggles were, a consensus had to be reached on this issue.

Furthermore, with five prefectures established, the imperial court would have more face, as it could showcase its pioneering achievements.

Setting up five states in such a tiny place is just creating trouble for Xu Lai.

Firstly, the increase in officials has strained the finances; secondly, the decentralization of power requires more effort to unite the prefects.

Historically, Wang Shao also firmly opposed this approach, but his opposition was ineffective. Later, when Wang Shao was transferred back to the capital, he encountered the same situation again while discussing the war in the southwest. This immediately triggered unpleasant memories, and after complaining, he simply resigned from his post.

Reality is just that absurd.

The senior officials are still arguing over the issue of providing assistance to Xu Lai, and further discussion is needed.

The senior officials quickly reached a consensus on the decision to hinder Xu Lai.

They quickly devised a plan:

Tongyuan Army was renamed Gongzhou, and Guwei Village was renamed Longxi County. The prefecture seat was located in Longxi County.

The area around Lintao was designated as Xizhou, and Wusheng Military City was renamed Xizhou Prefecture City.

The area around Mu Zheng's old stronghold was designated as Hezhou, and Yan Jingbao was renamed the city of Hezhou.

Zhang Shouyue recovered the southern Qiang territory and established Minzhou and Taozhou.

Of these five prefectures, one prefect will definitely be concurrently held by Xu Lai. The remaining four prefectures, however, will require the appointment of officials.

Wang Anshi, Wen Yanbo, and others argued over the selection of the prefect.

In Xihe and the other two prefectures, which are at the forefront, they all felt that a military general should be appointed as the prefect.

However, Wen Yanbo, the prefect of Gongzhou (Tongyuan Army), felt that a civil official should be appointed to govern the area. This was because the prefect controlled the supply lines, and if the civil and military officials at the front disobeyed, the prefect of Gongzhou (a civil official) could easily control them.

He's dragging Xu down again!

Wang Anshi believed that Gongzhou was also on the front line, and that a military general should be appointed as its prefect, specifically a local military officer. He suggested Zhang Shouyue for the position, since Zhang Shouyue's garrison was located nearby.

After arguing for a long time, the selection of the prefect was still undecided.

Then the meeting adjourned because everyone had other work to do.

The meeting continued the following day.

Today, however, we are rewarding the civil and military officials on the front lines for their merits.

The rewards for the key military officers were quickly determined, while the other mid- and low-ranking officers did not require the senior officials to personally concern themselves with the matter.

Gao Zunyu, who captured Mu Zheng's stronghold and took Mu Zheng's wife and children prisoner, was appointed as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Qin Feng Road and concurrently the Prefect of Hezhou. His official rank was promoted three levels, and he was also awarded the title of Military Merit.

This is an attempt to use force to control civil officials and disperse Xu Lai's power.

Hou Ke was promoted one rank and appointed as the prefect of Gongzhou. This was the result of a compromise between Wang Anshi and Wen Yanbo.

By having Hou Ke control the grain supply routes in the newly recovered areas, he can both prevent the civil and military officials at the front from acting recklessly and avoid hindering their progress.

Wang Shao was promoted two ranks and appointed as the judge of Xizhou. In addition to his daily duties, he was also responsible for the household registration and land management in Xizhou. He also retained his position as the driver and scribe of the Qin-Feng Road Military Commissioner.

Cai Kang was transferred back to the capital and promoted to Deputy Privy Councilor. This was because the court was going to send another official to serve as the Military Commissioner of Qin-Feng Road, putting a tight rein on Xu Lai.

However, Wang Anshi and Wen Yanbo are still vying for the position of the new military commissioner of Qinfeng Road. They both want to send their trusted confidants to reap the benefits.

Two days later, the argument was still going on.

Annoyed by the noise, Zhao Xu made a decisive decision: "Cai Ting is transferred to the position of Military Commissioner of Qin-Feng Circuit, Guo Kui will replace him as Military Commissioner of Jing-Yuan Circuit, and Zhong E will be reinstated as Prefect of Suizhou!"

"No!" Lü Gongbi immediately objected.

Zhao Xu angrily declared, "It's settled then!"

After speaking, Zhao Xu looked at Chen Xu and Wang Anshi.

Chen Xu and Wang Anshi could only support the emperor; they still needed to rely on imperial power to carry out reforms.

Zeng Gongliang also supported the emperor.

Neither Fu Bi nor Zhao Bian spoke.

The emperor felt guilty towards Xu Lai, Cai Ting, and Zhong E.

Needless to say, Xu Zilai had just made a great contribution, and his rewards hadn't even been decided yet, but the court officials were already discussing how to check and balance his power. This made the emperor very uncomfortable.

Cai Ting repeatedly distinguished himself in battle, even wounding Li Liangzuo, which ultimately led to Li Liangzuo's death. However, the imperial court never bestowed upon him sufficient rewards.

Zhong E burned the emperor's secret edict, took all the blame, and was dismissed from office and placed under house arrest. Emperor Zhao Xu had always wanted to reinstate him.

It's perfect to handle this all at once now.

Therefore, Cai Kang returned to the capital to serve as the Deputy Privy Councilor, and Cai Ting succeeded him as the Military Commissioner of Qinfeng Road.

Next, the discussion turned to the bestowal of honors upon Xu Lai.