Crown Tang emperor

A general asked for instructions after hearing the words.

"I don't see, the city is in chaos now. It's hard to distinguish whether it's officials or thieves, right or wrong. Those who obey my orders are obedient, and those who disobey my orders are rebellious!"

Li Tong waved his hand and said directly.

Chapter 0530 Famous official and good lord, meet each other when you know each other

Almost overnight, the surroundings of Chang'an City were covered with various banners of the Wang Shi's army, especially near some roads, bridges, and Jindu, where various numbers of Wang Shi's generals were stationed.

A large number of cavalry troops centered on the Bashang camp, extending to the left and right, patrolling back and forth, as if two iron arms tightly wrapped the grand Chang'an city.

As the capital of the Sui and Tang dynasties, the scale of Chang'an City goes without saying, and the construction of various city defense facilities is far more comprehensive and solid than that of the god capital Luoyang.Even Luoyang's outer city wall was built not long ago by Prime Minister Li Zhaode.

The Wangshi army that arrived at the city of Chang'an already numbered [-]. Naturally, it was not enough to completely surround the long outer gate of Chang'an, but it was more than enough to control the exit of the city gate and the surrounding passages, so that the rioters in the city would not dare to flee in large numbers.

The solid city defense construction of Chang'an City, which was originally a defense line for the safety of the city, has now become a major obstacle restricting the free entry and exit of the people.

During the turmoil, the thugs who originally controlled the gates of the various cities have all disappeared. Out of distrust of Wang Shi's military orders, although the Wang Shi cavalry continued to go around the city to promote Wang Shi's relief strategy, they still Many people ventured out of the city to abscond.

After the warnings and intimidation were fruitless, the king's cavalry also began to kill these fleeing people to stop them from fleeing.

Although this method is a bit cruel, it is very effective. Those who are still hesitating in the city saw the fleeing rioters being chased and killed by the cavalry of the king's division, and their bodies were thrown into the field, and the idea of ​​​​risking escape was quickly extinguished. , can only be trapped in the city, waiting for the arrival of the date agreed by Master Wang to leave the city, which greatly avoids the situation of the people fleeing and messing up the surroundings.

At the same time, Master Wang is not just blindly intimidating. The forced labor of the army and the villagers conscripted by the nearby counties and townships have been ordered to build camps outside the main city gates to accommodate people who will come from the city later. People who quit.There are also many oxen and horses dragging grain and transporting it to various camps.

These actions of Master Wang did not hide from the public. Many people can see the progress of the relevant projects standing on the tower, especially after seeing the deep ruts left by the vehicles pulling grain and grass in the countryside. The future inevitably has more expectations.

Of course, the reason why Master Wang was able to invest so much in relief supplies was thanks to the generosity of those rich and noble families in the city.

According to the previous agreement, they collected [-] hu of grain in Bashang, east of the city, but in fact the specific amount was even more.

Because in addition to those sects contacted by Li Zhan sent by King Yong, there are other families in Xijing and even merchants from the two cities. Many supplies.

Therefore, the materials that Master Wang actually received were quite sufficient, as much as 15 hu in grain alone.In addition to the food directly needed to stabilize the chaos, other kinds of money, goods and materials will naturally be included in the military expenditure of the king's army for the chaos.

Judging from the efficiency of these nobles in Xijing in dispatching supplies, although the city of Chang'an is currently in turmoil and noise, it still hasn't touched the fundamental order and accumulation.As long as the chaotic people can be properly dealt with, order can be re-established in a short period of time.

For the entire city of Chang'an, this is good news amid misfortune.At least the entire Master Wang is quite optimistic about the settlement of the chaos.

Perhaps there are still some discordant voices in the army. Some soldiers think that King Yong's strategy of calming chaos is a little weak. After all, the military merit of soldiers is reflected in human lives, and King Yong obviously has no intention of going to war.

Originally, these sergeants' desire for meritorious service was also a factor that could affect the plan of Ding Chao.However, because the army was stationed at Lanqiaoyi before, King Yong took precautions, and General Ji carried out some rectification, thus strengthening the control of the entire army, so there is nothing to worry about in this regard.

As for some civil servants who caught up from behind, they expressed their support and support for King Yong's strategy of calming chaos.After all, as government officials, it is a manifestation of their merits to let the chaotic land return to governance as soon as possible.

For example, Song Jing, one of the prime ministers of Kaiyuan and already serving as the shepherd of Yongzhou, made no secret of his support for this strategy of curbing chaos in the Daying meeting: "The root cause of the chaos in Xijing is not the cunning of the scholars and the people, but the cunning of the people." The government is harsh, the government lacks people to preside over it, and the big family has no reputation for virtue! Your Highness uses benevolence to rule chaos instead of tyranny.

Xijing has long been the residence of the emperor, where the ancestral temple is located. In the world, how can there be someone who bathes in the ancestral temple and claims meritorious service?The reason why the imperial court sent His Royal Highness is that His Royal Highness's family and nobles, Shi Yulong's works, used to punish the traitors with the power of thunder, and now govern the common people with the law of benevolence and virtue.Rigidity and softness are combined, not detrimental to prestige, not destructive to virtue, the sincerity of the family and the country wins people, and the sincerity of the people and the people is a great fortune! "

If he didn't have some understanding of Song Jing's temperament, Li Tong would have thought that he had recruited another little licking dog.He has met many famous officials in the world, but there are many conflicts in their positions. Hearing that Song Jing has such a high opinion of him, to be honest, he is still a little flattered. The more he looks at it, the more he feels that Song Jing is really pleasing to the eye.

But having said that, Song Jing is indeed very elegant, in his early thirties, nearly six feet tall, with a square and dignified face, and has a lawful manner in his movements. Dare to underestimate, dare not be rude.

Like some casual generals, they subconsciously corrected their attitudes when facing Song Jing, and dared not be too lax in their speech and behavior.

Li Tong couldn't help but be a little curious. Such a good comrade, who looks upright and speaks nicely, why Tang Xuanzong didn't take a fancy to him, and in his later years he still resented Song Jing's name.

Song Jing was recommended by Yao Yuanchong when he was in Luoyang, the capital of the gods. However, Li Tong was busy with affairs at that time and had no chance to have an in-depth conversation with Song Jing.However, there is no need to doubt Song Jing's ability. Fang Du, Yao Song are all familiar historical terms.

Although Song Jing is still a junior in the officialdom and lacks experience, Li Tong has no intention of directly arranging him in a prominent position.What's more, Song Jing has a deep understanding of her own interests, so it is natural to give young people the opportunity to practice and perform.

So Li Tong decided that Song Jing would temporarily lead the battalion Sima Shi, who would take charge of the relief work for the rioters in Xijing.

Song Jing was overjoyed when he got this appointment. He stood up and said: "The humble position must be worthwhile! But before accepting the order, I dare to ask Your Highness to say something. The turmoil in Xijing has affected many people. If you want to get it right now, you can't do it." People's power is not widely used.

Moreover, the people of Xijing Township have admired Wang Hua for a long time, and suddenly there is chaos. The disease of food and clothing may be alleviated by money and food, but the collapse of morality will not be cured quickly, and there may still be troubles of sudden shock and sudden movement.If we can recruit people who know the righteousness and have both talents and talents, and teach them as apprentices, it will not only help the eyes, but also soothe the heart. "

Hearing that Song Jing planned to recruit some talents from the people to rule the people with the people, Li Tong couldn't help but hesitate.

He has actually considered such an idea, but he still feels that it is a little inappropriate. After all, no matter what difficulties these people in Xijing have, it is an undeniable fact that they are causing chaos.

Not using killing to stop the chaos, but punishing them severely, is already giving way to the net, but if they are directly recruited as subordinates, it will inevitably give people an illusion that if they want to prosper, they will make chaos first and then wait for security.

Moreover, he has already planned to turn the old clothing club from the dark to the bright, and carry out administrative collection, which should be able to receive a considerable number of grassroots talents.Perhaps it is not ruled out that there are virtuous widows in the wild, but relatively speaking, he naturally trusts the members of his former clothing club more.

"This matter is open to discussion. If there is something to use the disease, first seek compensation from others, and rashly use the talents of the random people, it is still too aggressive."

After thinking about it, Li Tong replied.

Song Jing was not discouraged when the proposal was rejected, but he continued: "Your Highness has serious considerations, but if the rules are rigorous and the selection is thorough, this method is also suitable. This march is indeed There are a lot of people, but when it comes to knowing the hometown, the villagers here are better.

If there are no natives to manage affairs, repeating the township order cannot ensure comprehensiveness.Your Highness's plan Hongshen should not be satisfied with only treating external and internal diseases, if you want to go deep into the disease, you must use it.The locals and guests in Xijing are in great difficulty. If only large families of local people are selected, it is inevitable that they will lose the rule of justice. "

When Li Tong heard this, his mood moved slightly.Before that, he mainly focused on the class contradictions in Xijing, where the big households had beautiful fields and the small households had nowhere to stand.But Song Jing went a step further, talking about the contradictions between the natives and the Hakka here in Xijing.

The natives are the local citizens, and the Hakkas are the refugees who have lost their land due to bankruptcy.Hakka people accounted for a large proportion of the riots in Xijing this time.If this issue is not taken seriously, it will be difficult to say that there will be long-term stability in the future.

Although the Old Clothes Club itself covered some Hakka groups, the main ones were the fu soldiers who had lost their territory, which accounted for a small proportion of the entire Hakka group.After all, there are many narrow villages with small land and many people in the customs, and there are also many ordinary people who lost their land and went into exile. This is also a social issue that needs to be paid attention to.

"The method of taking and using must be meticulous and thorough. Virtue and talent should not be emphasized on the same."

Li Tong didn't intend to recruit too many Guan Longxun's noble children into his rule of Guanzhong, so he had to increase the selection of talents among the underprivileged.This matter will have to be done sooner or later, since Song Jing is so persistent, she might as well give it a try first.If the effect is not as expected, then stop for a while.Song Jing was known in the history books for knowing people and choosing people. He was appointed according to talents, and punishments and rewards were selfless. Li Tong couldn't help but hope that he could give him some surprises.

Hearing that King Yong agreed to his request, Song Jing was overjoyed for a while, and said again and again: "The humble job will never disappoint His Highness's trust!"

He is not very old, his qualifications are shallow, and he has been under the order of King Yong for even less time.But His Royal Highness King Yong was able to give him such trust, and Song Jing was filled with gratitude for a moment, secretly determined to do what King Yong told him to do well!

Chapter 0531 city ban puzzled, Dasuo Kemin

The construction efficiency of the camp outside the city is astonishing. After all, it is only a place to temporarily accommodate the rioters, and there is no need to think too much about the sturdiness and the pros and cons of attack and defense.

Build soil as a fortress and set up wood as a boundary. There has been little wind and snow recently, and there is no need to think too much about cold protection.

However, this aspect is not without consideration. There are also many warehouses of old clothes clubs around Xijing City, which store a large amount of hemp goods. Even if there is a sudden cooling climate change, the productivity of the rioters can be organized to quickly produce A batch of hemp felt to keep out the cold.

The scale of the camp is expanding every day, and at the beginning, the people still need to climb up the tower to watch.But gradually, even if you just stand on the flat ground at the gate of the city, you can see many camps laid out on the horizon, which makes the panic in the hearts of the people less and less.

But not everyone's mood gradually stabilized. For example, the honorable families in the districts on the east side of Zhuque Street became more and more anxious and melancholy.

This time Master Wang entered the pass to settle the chaos, it can be said that it went against their imagination from the very beginning.

If it is said that King Yong sent people into the city to visit Zhujia and collect goods, although these families were dissatisfied, it was still a normal operation.

Then the other actions that followed were completely beyond their imagination. Even if they didn't feel any clear malice, they couldn't help feeling a sense of crisis, a sense of panic and powerlessness that they couldn't control the situation.

Especially when they were preparing to go to Bashang to pay homage to King Yong with wine and food, but they were kicked back by King Yong's soldiers just after they left the city, this bad feeling became even stronger.

"What does King Yong mean by this? Xunhe is different, but he relied on his military power and didn't distinguish between good and bad, so he directly blocked us and other noble families in Chang'an City. Could it be that in his opinion, our prominent families How dare you underestimate the founder of the country so much when my grandparents follow the ancestors and start a business and build meritorious deeds!"

When a group of people were blocked back into the city, an old man surnamed Yu from the former Jue Liyang County Duke couldn't help but yelled and cursed.

There are many people around who share this sentiment. After all, they are full of enthusiasm for the arrival of King Yong. Not only did they donate a lot of supplies, they even prepared to enter the camp to reward them in person. As a result, they were directly dismissed at the gate of the city, and they did not even see the big banner in the camp. Now, the arrogance of King Yong's attitude is fully revealed.

Although I was extremely ashamed and indignant in my heart, there were not many people who really dared to express their dissatisfaction.Therefore, after the old man surnamed Yu spoke, there were very few responders.A group of people looked at each other speechlessly and could only disperse separately.

But the matter is far from over. After these people returned home, they faced a new problem, that is, what should they do with the remaining goods in the official warehouse?

The official treasuries of Tongjifang, Dunhuafang, etc. have been completely emptied by these nearby families.A considerable part of these official treasuries store supplies for the Longyou and Anxi frontier armies. In addition to basic supplies such as grain and rice, there are also many prohibited goods that are specially supplied to the military and rarely circulated in the market, such as wild horse hides and bow strings. , crossbow arms, lance fronts, scattered arrows and the like.

Among them, those general-purpose materials were naturally used to meet the demands of King Yong, and they were transported to Bashang early in the morning.However, other prohibited items for military use are not easy to deal with. If you hand them over, you will not be self-inflicted, and if you destroy them, it is not easy to deal with. Moreover, these items are of high quality, which is a valuable asset in itself.

Therefore, after some discussion, each family decided to divide up this batch of forbidden items privately, and each hid them at home, preparing to dispose of them through other channels after the limelight passed.

Between Longyou and Shuofang, there are many Jijihu tribes. They dare not become enemies with the Tang Dynasty, but they fight viciously with each other in order to compete for pastoral areas and population, so there is a great demand for these weapons, and they will definitely not It is a pity to exchange cattle and sheep for purchase.In this way, this batch of hot goods can be dealt with, and it can be ensured that these goods will not appear on the battlefield with Datang.

But in order to conclude these deals, besides channels, the most important thing is to be able to transport the goods out of the city quietly.Stored at home, every extra day brings more risk.

But now King Yong's army has sealed off the whole city, and the people are not allowed to come and go at will.Therefore, those people who hide goods have become ants on the hot pot. Every day is like a year, and they are suffering.

So in the recent period, all the families involved have frequently met to discuss matters and discuss strategies.

"Do you want to set the blame again and secretly transport those goods to the west city, so as to prove the crime of rioting the people?"

Someone suggested this, but as soon as the words were spoken, someone beside him shook his head and sighed: "If it was a while ago, it might be feasible. But before that, the rioters were violently killed on Zhuque Street, and now the army is gathering outside the city. , it’s really hard to avoid people’s eyes and ears.”

"That's right, those rioters were bewitched by King Yong's benevolence, and they waited for relief. Even the officials of the two counties have been able to act calmly in the market, and no one dared to harm them. Now the official treasury has been taken over by the county officials. It is impossible to return things. King Yong has not yet entered the city, and the chaos in the city has disappeared..."

Another person said: "It's not that there is no solution at all. After all, the gangsters who looted the official treasury were originally chased and killed by various families. We can use an excuse to prevent these prohibited goods from entering the market, so each family temporarily collects them. Get up, this is considered a merit..."

These remarks are quite inspiring, and I think it might be a good way to deal with the crisis.But soon someone snorted and said: "Before you moved to the official treasury, you thought my house was close to you, so that you could deceive others, send more prohibited goods, and ask my family to replenish the grain. Don’t dare to keep it private, and now hand over the forbidden goods, who will make up for my family?”

"If this happened, it would be a catastrophe to kill and exterminate the family, and to make such a private plan for the gain and loss of family wealth! Are you stupid?"

When someone heard this, he suddenly lost his temper, pointed at him and shouted angrily.

"Okay, okay! I am stupid and useless, so please make up for the extra food and goods that my family has left, and those forbidden things, you can take them! If I have a word, I will be slaughtered by you! Sleepy, why should my family be damaged?"

After the man was scolded, he couldn't help shouting at the case immediately, pointing at the other party and angrily said: "Since Zhao Jiugong has such a sense of local righteousness, why did he completely disregard the local affection when he took the Lishui River from my house back then?"

The old man called Zhao Jiugong also said angrily after hearing the words: "The current predicament we are talking about is the time to pursue the old story? The revenge of seizing the 硙 can be pursued. Then you, the Yin family, did the evil deeds of excavating the Tang family's ancestral tomb in the past. Is it also a crime of family punishment today?"

"Damn the old dog! The old story of the ancestors was based on the loyalty of the courtiers of the Sui Dynasty, and the conclusion of the old year of Zhenguan was reached early. Taizong specially ordered forgiveness and allowed future generations to continue to be loyal to the Tang Dynasty. Could it be that the old thief wanted to fight for life and death with my court by revealing this old story? "

When the Yin clansman heard this, he became even more angry, and directly drew out his blade and pointed it at the old man Zhao Jiugong.

Seeing that the quarrel between the two sides was about to turn into a fight, everyone hurriedly stepped forward to pull the two apart, and tried to persuade them.That's all for Zhao Jiugong, but the Yin tribe insisted that if he didn't compensate his family for the loss, they would never want him to agree to hand over the forbidden items stored in the family.

After such a stalemate, in the end, everyone decided that each family would claim a part of the share to compensate the Yin family for the loss, but the premise was that those forbidden items must be handed over and handed over collectively to deal with the imminent death disaster.

But the head of the Yin clan still refused to give up, and must let everyone write and leave written evidence to prevent them from denying their accounts afterwards.

But this request made everyone face a difficult situation. If you leave written evidence, it will undoubtedly leave ironclad evidence. Therefore, some people were displeased and said: "Mr. Yin is so untrustworthy, so why bother to conspire? If that is the case, let's go home Put your hands together and wait for the soldiers of King Yong to knock on the door!"

"The great evil has been committed, do you think I will use this as a countermeasure? The family's life is a struggle, and an inch of silk is also saved by the clan's hard work, and there is no room for loss! I will not give up even a piece of paper. How can I believe that you are willing to come here?" Pay me Gu Miqianhu afterwards?"

That Yin Gong didn't care about the complaints, he just said in a cold voice.

Seeing that he was so stubborn, everyone could only take a step back and left a written note.The old man surnamed Yu saw that Mr. Yin was putting away the written documents carefully, he stamped his feet and said in hatred: "Mr. Yin is so narrow-minded, it's really not enough to plan things!"

"You don't have to hate the old man, your Duke of Liyang has been suspended for a generation. If it weren't for the remnants of your ancestors, you would be worthy to sit and discuss things with the princes and families of other countries? Huh, Dazhu Kingdom? The descendants are so unworthy, only the voice of the ancestors Sellable. Lamentable, lamentable!"

The Yin Gong put away the written evidence, then looked around at everyone with cold eyes, and said in a deep voice: "I am not trying to persecute, but please know that even if any family reveals its whereabouts later, don't implicate my family. If I am sentenced, then None of the people present can escape!

You don't have to look at me harshly, if I suffer from this today, I will have my own children and grandchildren!It's best for all the families to live in peace, and when the families get together after the event, I will burn this in front of you, compensation and the like are just jokes. "

When everyone heard this, they realized that this yin father wanted to add an extra layer of insurance for their own family, and they were in a complicated mood for a while.Even if they secretly hated him, they really didn't dare to kill this Yin Gong on the spot, they could only watch him walk away.

Then each family began to nervously collect those forbidden goods. While doing things, they were half distressed and half regretful, regretting that they could not hold back their greed for a while, and conspired with such a group of scheming and suspicious guys to commit a felony.

Three days passed quickly, and in the early morning of the fourth day, Wang Shi's troops began to enter and control the gates of each city. The drums outside the city were loud, guiding the rioters out of the city to enter the camp one by one to be appeased.

At the same time, in the Bashang barracks, Li Tong also summoned the soldiers of the Chinese army and ordered them to enter the city for inspections, the focus of which was to inspect the Dongchengfang area where the noble families of Xijing gathered.

At this time, Li Tong, although he knew the news that the official treasury in the city had been robbed, he hadn't connected it with the families in Xijing.

One is preconceived, thinking that it is not difficult to come up with such a sum of supplies based on the accumulation of people in Xijing for many years, and it is really not worth taking such a big risk.Second, the riot on Suzaku Avenue was very loud, and all the signs were indeed in line with the looting by rioters.

"The focus of this tour of the city is to isolate the natives and the guests and resettle them separately. Especially the rich and noble families of Xijing, each with its own style of shelter, their respective mansions will definitely house a large number of guests and people. If you don't check them out in a day , The city ban will not be removed for a day! Citizens in the city, each guards his own square, and those who go out without permission will be killed by the three policemen!"

It is an open secret that the tyrants shelter the guests and the people, and use the population as the productivity of their own estates.

The riots in Xijing this time can be said to have attracted most of the residents around Chang'an City to Chang'an City, saving the praise of wantonly searching the countryside.Of course, Li Tong wanted to seize this opportunity, integrate these guests and people, and search out the population sheltered by those rich and noble families.

Control the important production tools such as mills, control the population, the land is there, and it can't be packed away. People in Xijing are the fish on the board, don't be afraid of them playing tricks!

Chapter 0532 Yong Wang is great, Song Jing admires

As the sun rises, the generals of the king's army perform their duties. Some enter the city to control the passage of the city gate, while others line up in the field, dividing the field outside the city into different areas, and leaving behind the gates of the city. The passage leading directly to the camp outside the city.

As the official appointed by His Royal Highness King Yong to be fully responsible for comforting the troubled people, Song Jing also followed the army early to the outskirts in front of the Mingde Gate in the south of Chang'an City, waiting anxiously for the people to leave the city.

Mingdemen leads to Zhuque Avenue, which will also be the main passage for the rioters to leave the city, so the single camp in the south of the city has been set up to accommodate more than [-] people.

Song Jing is taking on a new important task. While waiting for the people to go out of the city to be appeased, he is seriously thinking about the arrangements for the appeasement.His Royal Highness Yong gave him a lot of room to maneuver in terms of personnel, materials, and relevant government orders, and he secretly warned himself not to disappoint His Royal Highness Yong.

Regarding the killing or appeasement of the rebels, due to His Highness King Yong's arbitrariness, although there is not much controversy in the army, many people are not optimistic about it.

It's hard for ordinary people to explain it in terms of righteousness and reason. Only when the punishment is severe can one know fear, and the rules and regulations are lenient and indulgent.The second is that there are too many people involved, and it happened in the center of the empire like Chang'an in Xijing. Once there are any twists and turns and negligence, the bad impact will inevitably be magnified, and then spread to other counties and even those border detainees The mood of the state capital.

And the word "caress" is easy to say, but difficult to do.It is necessary to dig deep into why the common people are in chaos, where the real ailments lie, and properly solve these problems.There are many factors involved in this, from the overthrow of the country, the loss of criminal orders, to the poverty of the people, the loss of land and home, it is by no means that scaring people out of the city and giving a few meals of rice can solve the problem.

It was also because of this that Song Jing admired His Royal Highness Prince Yong from the bottom of his heart.It is actually very simple to fix the chaos. If King Yong is just an ordinary clan dignitary, with tens of thousands of troops under his command, the flag is waved down, the butcher's knife is held high, and thousands of heads roll to the ground, Xijing will be in chaos.

Even if the courtiers attacked and killed too much, they would not be able to hurt King Yong at all.For example, the Yangzhou rebellion and clan rebellion a few years ago were all resolved in this way.As Chang'an is the confidant of the empire, only by killing more can the majesty of the empire be restored and Xiaoxiao deterred.

However, His Royal Highness King Yong did not choose this more direct and simple method, but chose to focus on caressing.It is easy to kill but difficult to live, and it is even more difficult to live with tens of thousands of people.

Powerful gangsters are rampant in the pass, and the common people have no place to stand and have no reserve for the next day. This is the more profound reason for the turmoil in Xijing, and this is the fundamental evil since the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

Taizong and Gaozong, two generations of heroes, used Chinese characters to chase the six barbarians. Although they created a great reputation in the Tang Dynasty, they also exhausted the country, especially in Guanzhong. The house is empty and the stove is cold.

Years of exhaustion of the country and the people have caused a deep gap between the upper and lower levels, especially the excessive preferential treatment from the martial arts and meritorious sect, which has deepened the poverty of the people in Guanzhong.Can the nobles of Chang'an remember that the armored soldiers of the six towns are cold?Probably I don't remember it anymore, otherwise I wouldn't have disturbed these 10,000+ living people because of greed for goods.