Chapter 282 Xu Liushou's Knife
Chapter 282 Xu Liushou's Knife (Part 1)
"What? The capital is under siege!"
The scream was like a thunderclap out of nowhere, instantly causing an uproar in Yingtian Prefecture.
"Extraordinary, Extraordinary, Grand Tutor Murong leads the grassland army..."
With the vigorous development of the newspaper industry in Nanzhili, the battle reports from the capital seemed to have grown wings and spread rapidly in Yingtian Prefecture and even the entire Nanzhili.
What is amazing is that the speed at which the public obtains information is almost as fast as that of the imperial court.
In fact, it is because those large-scale newspaper offices have already keenly realized the key to the timeliness of information. Whoever can seize the opportunity first can reap huge benefits in the future.
Especially when it comes to key information like military intelligence, the bigwigs behind the news agency will not hesitate to use all kinds of connections just to gain benefits from it.
Before the imperial court could work out a countermeasure, someone dug up the story of Grand Tutor Murong leading his troops straight to the capital a hundred years ago.
It was him a hundred years ago, and it was still him a hundred years later. There was an inexplicable sense of mystery in this, of the cycle of fate.
But the situation is different now. The old emperor has left the capital, leaving only Prince Yu as regent.
The head of the Wang family in Yingtian Prefecture was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He paced back and forth in the mansion, with beads of sweat on his forehead.
His cousin Wang Gong, currently serving as the Minister of Personnel, is staying in the capital to assist Prince Yu in regulating the country.
"What if my clan brother surrenders!" This thought haunted him like a ghost, making him shudder.
The head of the Wang family gritted his teeth and made up his mind. He wanted to send someone to rush to the capital at full speed and give an order: if he found that his brother showed signs of surrender, he would help him to surrender "dignifiedly".
He thought to himself that this was all for the sake of the family. If his brother knew about this, he would definitely not blame him. Even if he did, he could not care less!
However, Yingtian Prefecture is far away from the capital, and it is difficult to predict whether his orders can be conveyed and executed in time.
After all, the head of the Wang family is a meticulous person and he has a backup plan.
Once he realized that something was wrong, he planned to kill his relatives for the sake of justice and report his cousin. Wang Gong served as the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Personnel. He had been in the officialdom for many years and naturally had a lot of negative information on him.
But no matter which choice is made, it will inevitably cause serious damage to the Wang family.
The only thing that Patriarch Wang could do now was to pray silently in his heart that something like this would never happen.
In addition, the civil and military officials and nobles in Southern Zhili had different opinions on the siege of the capital.
Some people believe that the North had long been a heavy burden on the Dayu Dynasty. It was unable to be self-sufficient in food and had to rely on resource transfusions from the South all year round. The people in the South had long since stopped wanting to be "tied" to the North.
In the court, an official suddenly stood up and indignantly reported to the border towns: "Your Majesty, the siege of the capital must have been caused by the border towns of the nine borders..."
His words expressed the common thoughts of all officials in the court.
The defense system of the Nine Frontiers has always been strong and cannot be easily breached. Grand Master Murong practices Taoism, and his role in war is far less than that of a martial saint. Now that the defense line has been breached so easily, there must be a traitor. After a little thought, the answer is obvious.
The official's words instantly triggered a heated discussion in the court.
There are two main opinions at the moment.
One is to fully support the capital and drive the grassland people out of the Central Plains.
Another opinion implicitly points out that this is a good opportunity to kill someone with a borrowed knife, and that the grassland people can be used to solve the problems of northern refugees and unruly border towns.
Although the latter opinion was not loud, it resonated with many people.
Because in the theory of Fushe, although there is the great principle of "every man has his share of responsibility for the rise and fall of his country", many people tend to find excuses for their selfish behavior from the Fushe's psychology.
In short, everyone's moral burden has become lighter.
The lowering of the moral bottom line is, to some extent, to adapt to the current era of vigorous development of industry and commerce. Everything is about money. This is actually a kind of "retro". In the previous dynasty, there were even high-ranking officials who fought in the court in order to marry rich widows.
If you think about it carefully, giving up the North seems to have many benefits. The South will no longer be sucked dry, and many large expenses such as water transport and military pay can be saved.
Moreover, the lords in the South now believed that they had firearms and were no longer afraid of the archers and cavalry in the North.
In short, people all hope to enjoy the money they earn with their hard work.
Even though the capital has not been conquered yet, some people have already assumed that it has been conquered, so let the grassland people rob it.
If it were in the past, when the emperor was still in the capital, everyone would at least respond positively and travel thousands of miles to serve the king.
But now, many people have seen that the old emperor does not like Prince Yu, otherwise why has he not officially appointed him as the crown prince until now, and the emperor's grandson was also taken to Yingtian Prefecture to be raised. This is clearly a precaution against Prince Yu.
Of course, there were many northerners in the court who could not tolerate the court abandoning the north, so they argued for it.
The two factions each held their own views, leading to a fierce verbal confrontation.
Strangely, the old emperor did not make a ruling on the dispute between the two factions, but let the ministers discuss it again.
As such a major event happened in the court, Xu Qing had to return to Yingtian Prefecture early.
He felt full of regret. If there had not been the chaos in the north, and he had been given more time, he would have been able to completely stabilize the situation in Southeast Asia.
But now, he could only barely suppress the undercurrent in Southeast Asia and hurried back to his old nest, Nanzhili.
In fact, it is time to come back. After all, Nanzhili is Xu Qing's foundation.
Here he has supporters of his academic ideas and countless talented people, and he also enjoys a very high reputation.
Nowadays, the Xu residence in Jiangning Prefecture and Yingtian Prefecture is bustling with people, with cars and horses flowing like water.
Many southerners are eagerly waiting for Guanjun Hou to stand up and speak for the southerners. They don't want to be exploited and sucked blood by the north anymore. This is the voice of the southern masters and the appeal of ordinary people.
They may not understand the principle of family, country and the world, but they know that if they give up the North, everyone can pay less taxes. At least that's what the officials from the South say now.
Although this view is unlikely to gain mainstream support in the court, it is very popular among the people. Some tabloids are also secretly fanning the flames in order to increase sales.
Xu Qing came to Yannian Palace to meet the emperor.
"My Marquis Guanjun is back." Facing the dispute between the North and the South and the chaos in the north, the old emperor looked calm, as if everything was under his control and he was not angry at all.
Xu Qing first greeted respectfully, and then flattered him skillfully.
After the emperor and his minister exchanged greetings, the old emperor asked many questions about the situation in Nanyang, and Xu Qing answered truthfully.
The old emperor nodded with satisfaction, and then talked about the most pressing matter at the moment: "Xu Qing, what do you think?"
Xu Qing replied without hesitation: "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead 100,000 troops to the north to relieve the siege and bring peace to the north."
"How do we deal with the Nine Borders?"
"Kill!" Xu Qing said this word with absolute certainty.
In his opinion, the border commanders took advantage of the border troubles and the court gave them generous military pay, but they let the grassland army attack the capital. This was simply treating the court as a fool. The actions of the border commanders had completely crossed the court's bottom line.
The old emperor said with satisfaction: "All the ministers are selfish, but you, Xu Qing, are the only one who is dedicated to the public."
Obviously, the arguments among the ministers in the court made the old emperor very dissatisfied.
This was not a simple dispute between the North and the South, but a serious problem in which the border towns dared to allow the grassland army to enter the pass for their own selfish interests.
The imperial court allocated so much military pay every year, but they repaid the emperor's favor in this way. This matter has already touched the old emperor's bottom line and he cannot tolerate it.
"When I came back, I had already sent people to transport food from Southeast Asia to supplement the military supplies."
“Does this have any impact on the situation in Nanyang?”
“Yes, but Nanyang can fight again.”
The old emperor praised: "Xu Qing, I trust you to do the job, I will leave this matter to you."
"According to the order."
After leaving Yannian Palace, Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief.
He knew very well that no matter how the old emperor played political games, at least he could see the overall situation clearly.
Many ministers in the court only consider their own personal interests and fail to see the long-term consequences.
In this era, technology is difficult to block, and the firearms of the south can be quickly learned by the north. Moreover, Master Murong is by no means an ordinary person, and with the support of the Black Mountain Old Demon behind the scenes, if the other party really occupies the north, then the Dayu Dynasty will really fall into a passive position.
The damage this caused to the destiny of the Dayu Dynasty was incalculable.
The greatest achievement of Taizu of this dynasty was to reunify the north and the south that had been divided for hundreds of years. If the situation of dividing the country by the river reappears under his and the old emperor's rule, he would be unworthy of being called the Star of Literature, and the old emperor would not be able to be called the leader of the revival. Their previous achievements would become a joke.
Xu Qing naturally would never allow this situation to happen.
Xu Qing went straight to the temporary cabinet, called everyone together, and prepared to hold a small meeting first.
Although he was not the prime minister in name, after he came back, he did everything a prime minister should do.
As long as the emperor does not object, he can firmly grasp the power.
Of course, the old emperor did not intend to give Xu Qing the title of Prime Minister.
Xu Qing didn't care about this.
The process of Yao, Shun and Yu ascending to power was very simple, that is, winning the hearts of the people. Where the hearts of the people are, there is power. If fame and position are not supported by the hearts of the people, they are like water without a source and a tree without roots.
Now is not the time to compete for fame and status with the old emperor. The two sides are now more like "two saints ruling the court", just like the empress dowager in the previous dynasty, the emperor hid behind the scenes, and the empress do the dirty work, but gradually hold power.
"The path of great unification must be adhered to for hundreds and thousands of years and cannot be shaken. This is the basic national policy. At present, many voices in the society are intent on dividing the north and the south, which this marquis will never allow."
Xu Qing looked at the Minister of Rites Cheng Guang and continued, "Sir Cheng, this kind of atmosphere must not be allowed to grow. This Marquis requires that from now on, the Ministry of Rites close down all the newspapers that are involved in these remarks, and not a single one should be spared. In addition, any civilian scholar who mentions this matter will be stripped of his official title."
"Ah, stripping someone of their honors, isn't that too harsh a punishment?" Although Cheng Guang also disliked such divisive remarks, he still couldn't help but feel frightened after hearing Xu Qing's order.
Xu Qing smiled slightly: "I will ask His Majesty to hold another imperial examination immediately." He paused, and then said: "Southern Zhili has nothing else but the people who want to be officials are as numerous as loaches."
Cheng Guang sighed secretly. He knew in his heart that some scholars might not really want to split the North and the South. They were just blindly following the crowd.
Moreover, Xu Qing was serious about the scholar, and his reputation in the scholar community would be unimaginably bad in the future. There would definitely be folk legends that would severely frame him.
Xu Qing was of course aware of the consequences, but he still did it resolutely. He is truly a real man!
Xu Qing looked at Chen Fu again and ordered, "Master Chen, I need you to replenish the army's pay and food as much as possible. The deadline is within one month."
"A month? If so, by the time the army sets out to the north, the capital will probably have been captured."
"If it's broken, we can just take it back." Xu Qing's expression was indifferent, but his tone was full of unquestionable firmness.
Chen Fu's heart trembled, and he answered respectfully, "Yes."
"Yan Shan, anyone in the Fushe who makes such divisive remarks will be expelled and handed over to the court for punishment."
"only."
"Lord Huo, the censors of the Inspectorate cannot sit idle either. Dividing the North and the South is really detrimental to the righteousness of the world. I hope the censors of the Inspectorate will stand up and make it clear what is righteous."
Huo Jing looked at Xu Qing's sharp eyes, which fell on him, and he couldn't say anything against it. He could only say, "Yes."
This time, Xu Qing did not try to smooth things over or use benefits to induce everyone to work together as he did in the past.
He decisively wielded the butcher knife, not outwardly, but inwardly.
Many people in Nanzhili could not have imagined that the first thing Xu Liushou, the contemporary champion marquis, would do when returning to Yingtian Prefecture was to take action against these southerners.
For a time, the entire Nanzhili was shocked by Xu Qing's series of actions.
...
...
Xu Qing's order was quickly passed down, and the entire Nanzhili was suddenly in a state of panic.
Officials from the Ministry of Rites did not dare to slack off in the slightest and went out in force to launch a thunderous closure operation against those newspaper offices that spread separatist remarks.
For a time, on the streets and alleys of Yingtian Prefecture, one could often see officials escorting the owners of newspaper offices hurriedly passing by. The newspaper offices that used to be bustling were now closed and dead silent.
Some of the common scholars who were stripped of their official titles beat their chests and stamped their feet, regretting their hasty words; others hoped for luck and tried to beg for mercy everywhere.
However, Xu Qing's orders were as hard as iron and no one could change them.
Many scholars disobeyed and actively resisted, and as a result their entire families were implicated and their property was directly confiscated.
Chen Fu was even busier and more exhausted. On the one hand, he had to coordinate resources from all parties to prepare military pay and food, and on the other hand, he had to deal with the pleas of the scholars' families whose property had been confiscated and the pressure from the personal connections behind them.
Inside the Fushe Society, Yan Shan was also conducting an intense investigation.
He was fully aware of the seriousness of the matter, and personally led the core members of the Fushe to examine every corner where there might be problems. Whenever he found that any member echoed separatist remarks, he would expel him without hesitation and hand him over to the court.
Huo Jing also did not dare to slack off. He summoned a group of censors from the Inspectorate and conveyed Xu Qing's order to them.
Moreover, Huo Jing strongly supported Xu Qing's opinion this time and did not give the censors room to express themselves freely.
Huo Jing knew very well that this time Xu Qing's blade was curled inwards, and he would not let go of even his own people. If the others could not see the situation clearly, they would probably not survive.
He also admired Xu Qing from the bottom of his heart.
Because Xu Qing really uses his reputation to do things for the people of the world.
With this feat alone, Xu Qing deserves the title of a sage of our time.
Even Huo Jing, an old man, was excited about this.
What's more, he was born into a wealthy northern landlord family!
Under Huo Jing's strict order, the censors took action one after another. Some of them made impassioned speeches in the court, denouncing the remarks that divided the North and the South; others went deep into the people and explained the righteousness of the world to the people through various channels.
For a time, impeachment memorials from the Inspectorate flew into the court like snowflakes. The targets of impeachment included not only those officials who made separatist remarks, but also some wealthy and powerful people who secretly supported such remarks.
Among the people, Xu Qing's series of actions caused an uproar.
Some people who originally supported separatist remarks began to reflect on their own ideas under the propaganda of the censors of the Inspectorate.
They gradually realized that although dividing the North and the South might allow them to pay less taxes in the short term, in the long run it would bring huge disasters to the entire country.
However, some people are dissatisfied with Xu Qing's approach. They believe that Xu Qing's methods are too tough and infringe on their freedom of speech.
These people began to collude secretly, trying to find opportunities to resist Xu Qing's orders.
...
...
Xu Qing handles various government affairs in his office duty room.
He is no longer afraid of these trivial matters, and can always grasp the key factors in the chaotic information, and thus unravel the truth.
In addition, his primordial demonic energy not only did not increase during this period of time, but decreased instead.
Obviously, his current actions will have a great impact on his reputation.
But on the other hand, the Tai Shi demonic energy in his body actually increased a lot.
Everyone has selfish desires, the nobles and the rich are like this, and so are the common people.
Xu Qing knew very well that sometimes he had to do things that would offend many vested interests.
Even if there are our own people among them.
Even if we are criticized by the country and condemned by thousands of people, we must continue to move forward firmly!
His knife can be pointed both outward and inward.
"Anyone who stands in my way will be killed!"
Xu Qing suddenly thought of the Black Mountain Demon.
In his opinion, the Black Mountain Demon was just such a character.
(End of this chapter)