White-robed Minister

Chapter 208-0206 [The Emperor and Xu Lai pull off some crazy moves together]

Fengxiang Prefecture City.

Li Yi, the prefect of Fengxiang, was recently promoted for his meritorious service in supplying grain to Xu Lai. He was promoted one rank each in both his primary and secondary official positions, and after the promotion, his primary official rank was higher than Xu Lai's.

"Xu Jinglue wants to recruit archers in Fengxiang Prefecture?" Li Yi looked at the persuader in front of him.

Yu Shanyuan said, "Yes. We will provide the resettlement allowance, fifteen strings of cash per person. Once you go to Xihe, you will be given 100 mu of land, two sets of winter clothes, and winter rations. After spring, the government will provide interest-free loans of rations, seeds, and oxen. Each person will be allocated at least two Qiang tenants. If you do not have a family, the government will also help arrange a Qiang woman as your wife."

"And he's even arranging for her to get married?"

Li Yi chuckled and asked, "Do those Qiang tenant farmers even know how to farm? And are there that many Qiang women?"

Yu Shanyuan explained, "Mu Zheng suffered repeated defeats, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of young and strong Qiang men. Many Qiang women became widows. If the Han archers did not mind, they could not only marry but also have children immediately. Those Qiang children could take the surnames of the Han archers. As for the Qiang tenant farmers, they would definitely know how to farm; they were all captured Qiang people from the river valleys."

"How many do you want to recruit?" Li Yi asked.

Yu Shanyuan said, "The more the better."

Li Yi was both amused and exasperated: "The more the better."

Yu Shanyuan continued, "Besides archers, we also accept civilian households. Farmers from Fengxiang Road who have no land will be given 50 mu of land if they go to Xihe. They will also receive a settlement allowance of 5 guan, winter clothing, and winter rations. After spring, they will receive interest-free loans for rations..."

Seeds and oxen. If one wishes to marry, a Qiang woman will be provided.

"Do you have that many oxen for plowing?" Li Yi asked.

Yu Shanyuan said, "We are already contacting merchants to purchase oxen for plowing in various parts of Shaanxi."

Li Yi said, "This matter is of great importance; I need to discuss it with the local officials first."

Yu Shanyuan said, "Your Majesty need not worry. Xihe is a remote and borderland place, and it may be subject to war. The people who are willing to go there are either eager to make a name for themselves or are so poor that they can hardly make a living. If these people stay in Fengxiang Prefecture, it will be difficult for them to settle down and they are more likely to cause trouble."

Li Yi suddenly remembered something: "Has the imperial court agreed?"

Yu Shanyuan said, "I have already reported this to His Majesty."

Li Yi angrily said, "Absurd! I thought the court had already agreed, and I was wondering why I hadn't received the official document."

Yu Shanyuan said, "If the imperial court issues an official document, we will still bear the cost of resettlement expenses and food rations."

Li Yi finally understood what Xu Lai meant.

If the imperial court issues an official document to advance this matter, the resettlement expenses and initial rations will certainly be borne by local governments. Most officials will likely be uncooperative, finding various excuses to shirk responsibility, and then arbitrarily send a hundred or so people to Xu Lai. Even if more people are willing to migrate, officials will withhold funds and rations, and who knows how many will starve to death along the way.

Now things are different. Xu Lai provides resettlement allowances and food rations, personally sending people to deliver them to the immigrants. This not only ensures the survival rate of the immigrants but also motivates local officials.

The more people sent to Xu Lai, the more money and grain the local officials amassed. On paper, they paid for it, but in private, Xu Lai paid for it.

After sending Yu Shanyuan away, Li Yi couldn't help but sigh, "This Xu Xingzhi is simply audacious. How much money and grain must he have embezzled to replenish the border region's population?"

At the same time, Li Yi had to admire Xu Lai, because Xu Lai's approach carried extremely high political risk.

This is a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment, and Xu Lai may be dismissed from his post because of it!

After leaving Fengxiang Prefecture, Yu Shanyuan went to other prefectures to lobby.

Yu Shanyuan was also promoted, not only from acting official to selection officer, but also to the sixth rank of selection officer. He is now the driver and secretary of the Qin Fengxi River Road West Route General, that is, Xu Lai's confidential secretary.

Xu Lai's process of opening up the border this time was very different from that of Wang Shao in history.

Wang Shao rarely fought decisive battles; instead, he would launch a single, decisive attack to subdue the Qiang tribes and then use the opportunity to recruit and pacify them. This approach allowed for rapid progress, but it required the heavy reliance on Qiang leaders, leaving Han Chinese with only cities and fortified villages under their actual control.

Xu Lai, however, won two great victories on the banks of the Tao River.

In particular, in the later battle, of the 20,000 elite Qiang troops who crossed the river, only 4,000 to 5,000 survived. Moreover, before the battle even began, the Jiehe tribe, who lived in the area of ​​the battlefield, was almost wiped out by Xu Lai—all the men were defeated and fled, while the women and children were captured by the Song army.

Xu Lai's approach allowed the imperial court to directly control vast amounts of river valley land, enabling them to recruit Han archers and civilians to cultivate it. They could even arrange for Qiang women to marry single men.

Yu Shanyuan was ordered by Xu Lai to contact prefects and governors in various places and frantically recruit Han people to go there to cultivate the land.

Where did Xu Lai get his money and provisions?

Some were captured on the battlefield, some were earned through trade and market transactions, and some were provided by Zhang Heng and Cai Ting. They then wrote to the emperor for help, requesting that he sell some more pearls from the imperial treasury.

Compared to Wang Shao in history, Xu Lai was already very frugal.

Xu Lai's secret memorial requesting help reached the emperor even before the frontier poems were written.

In his secret report, Xu Lai even detailed his underhanded tactics. He analyzed the border situation in detail and pointed out that other prefectures might not cooperate with the immigration, so he planned to divert funds and grain to bribe local officials.

If any scandals occur in the future, Xu Lai will bear all the blame himself. It has nothing to do with other officials; he is the only one who embezzled.

After reading this secret memorial, Zhao Xu's worldview was completely shattered.

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With the imperial court ordering the population increase on the border, would local officials still secretly engage in misconduct? Why would Xu Lai have to risk illegally misappropriating funds and grain to accomplish this?

This is utterly absurd and utterly inexplicable!

Thinking about this inexplicable breach of the Yellow River's banks, Zhao Xu felt that anything could happen, and things might really be as Xu had said.

However, Xu Lai's actions were tantamount to condoning corruption among officials, a situation that Zhao Xu found unbearable.

In his anger, Zhao Xu was also deeply moved: Xu Xingzhi was a truly loyal minister who was willing to sacrifice his future for the national interests of the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Xu looked at the secret report again and again, his feelings complicated and conflicted, and he found it difficult to make a decision for a while.

Besides the issue of immigration, Xu Lai also requested that the "Entry into China Law" be implemented in the newly recovered land.

The so-called "entering the center" method is similar to the "opening the center" system of the Ming Dynasty.

Merchants would transport grain to the frontier, and after the government inspected and verified it, they would be issued "cash certificates." Merchants would then use these certificates to collect cash or redeem monopolized goods such as salt, tea, alum, and spices at designated locations (usually the capital).

This system can greatly alleviate the shortage of food and supplies on the border.

However, it was later ruined by Emperor Huizong of Song and Cai Jing.

This ruler and his ministers amassed wealth by issuing excessive amounts of paper money, which could not be redeemed for cash but could only be exchanged for goods. However, the sheer number of paper money and the total amount of goods remained unchanged caused the paper money to depreciate and become worthless.

Cai Jing even presented Emperor Huizong with several large cabinets full of paper money certificates, all of which he had hastily printed. Emperor Huizong then bestowed these certificates upon powerful officials and favored ministers. These officials and ministers, using their privileges, could exchange goods first, causing many merchants to be unable to collect their goods.

As a result, many merchants went bankrupt, leading to the bizarre situation of "being a rich merchant in the morning and a beggar in the evening."

Zhao Xu put away the secret memorial and summoned Wu Chong, the Commissioner of the Three Departments. Shao Bi had served as the Commissioner of the Three Departments for two years, and Wu Chong had recently taken over the position.

This appointment was the result of a political compromise; the opposition had been making too much noise.

Only Wu Chong could silence everyone.

Because Wang Anshi, Ouyang Xiu, Wen Yanbo, Lü Gongzhe, and Xia Boqing were all related to Wu Chong through marriage. Wu Chong's eldest son was also engaged to Han Qi's daughter.

Wu Chong's brothers were also related to Pang Ji and Han Gang through marriage. Even Sima Guang could be linked to Wu Chong's brothers as relatives.

"Is it permissible to travel to Zhongfa in Xihe?" Zhao Xu asked.

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Wu Chong said, "Alright."

Zhao Xu then asked, "How many paper certificates can you give me?"

Wu Chong said, "I will do my best to raise funds and allocate funds for salt permits, tea permits, alum permits, and incense permits."

Zhao Xu exclaimed happily, "Excellent!"

Why did Wu Chong support Xu Lai?

First, Wu Chong supports opening up the border. Furthermore, like Xu Lai, he opposes establishing too many new states to alleviate financial pressure on the border region.

Secondly, Wu Chong needed to repay Xu Lai for speaking out for justice.

Jiang Zhiqi and others spread rumors that Ouyang Xiu had an incestuous relationship with another woman, and the target of these rumors was none other than Wu Chong's daughter!

At the time, his in-laws were unable to speak, and even he himself had to avoid suspicion, lest he make things worse by trying to explain himself. Of all the officials who spoke out, only Xu Lai stood up to help, which in turn attracted numerous impeachments from other officials.

Wu Chong always kept this friendship in his heart.

Now, Xu Lai needs to go to China and France to procure provisions, and Wu Chong should help him both publicly and privately.

Two days after Wu Chong took his leave, Wang Yuanbi returned to the capital to report back.

"Your Majesty, these are the poems and essays of Minister Xu, all written during the battles on the frontier," Wang Yuanbi reported.

Zhao Xu read the poems one by one slowly, and he liked the poem "Farewell to the Pavilion Swallow" the most.

The clouds over Longban Pass disperse like a painting, stretching across the vast Qin city. Newly broken through the dust of the barbarian invasion, warhorses return, banners fluttering in the west wind. Wild geese skim the cold sands, the setting sun melting gold on the broken tiles.

Who remembers the conquests of a hundred generations? Bones lie buried in the autumn fields, barren and overgrown. The whip points to mountains and rivers all familiar, a single tug of the long spear sweeps across the plains. Why boast of my achievements? Let us all laugh at me!

He seemed to witness firsthand the Song army's resounding victory, leading their warhorses back to camp beneath the Qin Great Wall, banners fluttering in the west wind. Wild geese swept across the cold sands, and the setting sun shone golden on the crumbling tiles.

Xu Lai stopped his horse, brandishing his long spear, and stood on the ruins of the Great Wall. Pointing to the distant landscape, he said, "This is all the former land of the Han and Tang dynasties!" Then he shouted to his soldiers, "Today we have rendered a great service to the country. You need not hold back." The soldiers laughed in unison, and the entire army rejoiced.

This poem was more vivid and descriptive than any battle report, and Zhao Xu couldn't help but smile as he read it.

He personally copied it down and then reread Xu Lai's secret memorial.

After a long while, Zhao Xu wrote an imperial edict to the prime ministers, instructing them to arrange the resettlement work and to conscript archers and civilians to Xihe. At the same time, he ordered the sale of one million strings of cash worth of pearls from the imperial treasury and allocated all the money to Xu Lai.

He tacitly approved of Xu Lai's shady dealings and provided Xu Lai with funds for misappropriation by selling the inner treasury beads.

Zhao Xu then had his attendant bring him a map, staring at the border for a long time, hoping that Xu would come to recover more territory.