Han Shizu

The mountainous ship was still heading south against the current, swaying slightly under the impact of the river. The autumn wind in September was already very cold, and the old emperor could not bear the blow, but his mind seemed to be clearer.

On the deck, under the canopy, the old emperor huddled in a wide chair like a rotten tree, but his old eyes were still wise, looking down at Guo Xin calmly.

As for Guo Xin, his performance at this time was a bit exciting. On the one hand, he was trembling, but on the other hand, he kept looking up at the old emperor, cautiously, but with a guilty conscience, and his face changed, as if he was performing a funny show.After all, he is nearly sixty years old, so it is really difficult to deal with such a movement.

The autumn wind gently blew his hair and whispered in his ear. The old emperor's eyes gradually became trance-like. Gradually, what the old emperor saw was no longer the nervous, timid and even unbearable second uncle in front of him, but what he represented. The Guo family.

The development of the Guo family over the past few years came to mind, and the old emperor couldn't help but wonder if he had relaxed his vigilance towards the heroes and nobles of the Guo family, and even allowed them to develop.

Taking the Guo family as an example, the old emperor's fear was extremely deep, but looking back, the old emperor's fear was more about Guo Wei personally. When Guo Wei was too old, he relaxed and waited for his death. You will feel more at ease.

However, the negative impact of Guo Wei's death on the Guo family was only temporary. However, the development of the Guo family continued to deepen in the following ten or twenty years, influencing both the government and the public, and closely related to the country.

Although the current powerful class of the Han Dynasty does not have ostentatious and eye-catching titles such as the "Four Great Families" and the "Eight Great Families", it is undeniable that there are some top powerful people at the highest level of the rule of the Han Empire. The Guo family is a family that cannot be bypassed.

The Guo family became prosperous and strong during the Guo Wei period, but it was truly consolidated in the second generation.Guo Wei has three sons in total. The eldest, Guo Tong, inherited the Duke of Xing State in a very normal way. In his early years, he was also considered a talented person in the court. He served as a minister, from the local to the central government, and then to the local government. He has a rich resume. After the age of 35, he became an official. Their rank is not lower than the third rank, and they are all feudal officials, or hold important positions.

However, Guo Tong is very shrewd, even too shrewd, and he is also a person who is overly self-interested or family-friendly.But at the same time, this man was also considered to be aware of the times and interests. When he was less than 55 years old, he wrote a letter requesting to become an official because of his physical illness.

If you think about it carefully, you will find that it was the time when Guo Tong became an official.It was almost stuck in the period when the old emperor started to become "abnormal", and in the past few years while recovering from illness, he also made a concubine pregnant, and she had a son when she was old, and she had two children at once, and they were still twins.
Of course the old emperor understood Guo Tong's "smartness", which of course made him unhappy, but in the end he laughed it off. It would be better if he was smarter and we could get along with him more happily.

Among Guo Wei's three sons, the one that the old emperor valued the most was undoubtedly the third son Guo Yi. After all, Guo Yi had forged a relationship with the old emperor when he was still in his infancy. The jade pendant he carried with him , as long as you take it out and explain its origin, everyone present must salute.

Of course, Guo Yi is indeed worthy of training. He, old Guo Wei, spent the rest of his life carefully cultivating him. At the age of 40, he is already a pillar of the Great Wall of the Han Dynasty and a banner figure among the generals in the late Kaibao period.

The most significant thing is that after returning from Anxi, Guo Yi was awarded the title of Marquis of the Changzheng by the old emperor. If it weren't for the emperor's preference and favor, Guo Yi's military exploits and qualifications would not be enough.How difficult it is to make progress within the Han Dynasty's current system is far beyond ordinary people's imagination. It is difficult for others to seek promotion to an official position, but Guo Yi can be promoted to a high rank in one step. This is certainly due to the emperor's authority, and it also reflects According to the most common truth in the world, birth determines destiny.

Compared with his brothers, Guo Xin is much more ordinary, ordinary to the point of mediocrity, of course, to put it nicely, he is honest.However, when honest people do things, it does not mean that they are conscientious and diligent. On the contrary, it is very hateful and can make people angry to death!

Guo Xin is a typical example. When he was in charge of Jinghu South Road, it would not be wrong to say that he had done any bad things, but he could only count on one hand to say that he had accomplished anything.

It's not that he is slacking off in politics. He is very diligent, and he has done a lot of things. He has more ideas than a hair on his head, covering politics, economy, people's livelihood, water conservancy, transportation, and agriculture. He is involved in all aspects, but he has not implemented it. It did not bring any benefits to the people under the rule, and it also exhausted them from exhaustion.

In the end, even if he stood still or even regressed, he could still speak plausibly and feel that he was doing his best to serve the people.If you are accused by your subordinates, you will retaliate. If you are corrected by the court, you will feel aggrieved.

To be honest, Guo Xin, the chief envoy, is not qualified for his role.In Yuezhou, before entering the Hunan Dao realm, the old emperor began to listen to these reports about Guo Xin. At this time, he personally interviewed and inspected it. He found that it was a mistake to place this person on the Jinghu South Dao. The decision has delayed the development of Hunan Province for more than three years.
Looking back, who originally suggested that Guo Xin be transferred to Hunan Road? Well, it was him.Thinking of this, the old emperor's expression became even more ugly. He was not even sure whether he was mistaken or just confused.

There was anger and even resentment in his heart, but looking at Guo Xin's pitiful appearance, he also felt a sense of grievance that was difficult to vent. The emperor and his ministers stared at each other for a while, and finally the old emperor waved his hands impatiently and said: "Go away. Come on! Come to your boat and lead the way to Changsha!"

The old emperor's tone was slightly harsh, but Guo Xin heard it as if he was hearing the voice of a fairy. He responded hurriedly, and then left with a smile on his face. His naive expression made the old emperor's tooth ache.The Xiangjiang River, especially the section of the waterway under Changsha in Dongting, is extremely busy. It is the harvest season, and hundreds of boats are vying for the river with thousands of sailboats racing across the river. The closer you get to Changsha, the more river boats of all types, traveling south and north, transporting grain. There are shops for transporting salt and tea, and everything.

On the way south, you can see some special ships, large and small. The common feature is that they have green flags everywhere, obviously belonging to the same force.In the past 30 to [-] years, a new half-black and half-white force has emerged on the Xiangjiang River: the Xiang Gang.

The Boat Gang, a force at the bottom of society, has existed since ancient times, but the Hunan Gang can be regarded as the most formal and complete system in history. It has a clear organizational structure, a mature operating mechanism, and most importantly, a reliable backend.

After all, some transportation tasks of the Hunan Provincial Government are entrusted to the Hunan Gang, and when it comes to civilian activities, they are often under the banner of semi-officials. The decommissioned ships of the Navy also flow into the Ship Gang. There is a local saying, Half of the ships operating on the Xiang River belong to the Xiang Gang.

It can be said that the Hunan Gang is also a product of decades of development in Changsha. Now, its influence has touched all aspects of the bottom of society. The government seems to need such a flexible "toilet", and many Hunan Gang are willing to act as dogs for the powerful. Big bosses are something you can meet but cannot seek.

The old emperor's southern tour had an impact on the local area in all aspects, including these boat gang forces that were beyond their reach.It is not a problem of social security, but the arrival of the old emperor has affected a major event in the "Jianghu".

The Hunan Gang is actually just an external alliance. In the early years, its power was also very dispersed. In order to fight for interests, they continued to fight.Later, with the help of a "Mr. Wang", more than a dozen leaders of the big boat gang gathered together and formed a blood alliance to form the Hunan Gang.

Well, there is such a legend in the rivers and lakes, and the story behind how so many brave and fierce ship bosses can put aside their conflicts and reach a consensus is obviously not that simple.The identity of that "Mr. Wang" attracted special attention. What kind of virtues and abilities does this person have?

It was only later that it gradually spread that "Mr. Wang" was the chief arrester of Changsha Prefecture, Wang Jue.Now no one doubted it. Although Wang Jue was only a humble official within the imperial court system, in the eyes of the common people, he was an extremely important figure.

Especially for those who run around in the world, it is even more intimidating, because he has been the chief arrester in Changsha for decades, and the whole of Changsha and even the whole of Hunan Province are full of his disciples and disciples. This is enough to shake the Xiangjiang River with a cough. characters.

Of course, allowing Wang Jue to do the laborious task of bonding the Hunan Clan, there is obviously a deeper background behind it, which is very tight-lipped in Changsha.

In addition to reducing armed fighting and stabilizing public security, the Xiang Gang was established for another very important reason, which was to expand outward.

The water network in the south is crisscrossed and the rivers are densely packed, so there are many people running boats. Although the Xiangjiang River is a major tributary of the Yangtze River, as long as there is a little ambition, why not go to the Yangtze River to fish for oil and water.But this is a huge difficulty. The boat gangs that line the Yangtze River are not easy to mess with. The territory is divided, and outsiders are not allowed to interfere.

After the Xiang Gang formed an alliance, the first thing they did was the "Northern Expedition", organizing people to explore the Yangtze River. However, as soon as they left Dongting, they were beaten back by the "Hubei Gang".

That battle is known as the "Battle of Baling" in the legend of the world, and it started a nearly ten-year battle between the boat gangs of the two lakes.The two forces, like two domesticated dogs, bit each other repeatedly in Dongting and on the river for the benefit of their masters and for a little bit of dog food on their lips.

For this kind of armed fight between non-civilians, the government generally will not interfere, and there is a tacit understanding between the two parties. Even if the river is stained with blood, they will follow the rules of the world and never affect the government or cause trouble to the masters.

If the fighting is severe and the losses are great, then we will negotiate a truce, negotiate a balance of interests, and negotiate for a year and a half of stability, and then we will continue to fight, and the cycle starts over and over again.Benefits are eternal, but human life is worthless.

Of course, there are also cases that go too far, affecting public order and endangering people's livelihood. At that time, there will be pressure from the government and the navy will be dispatched.And the most absurd thing is that the two sides fought the most fiercely. Each side gathered thousands of people to fight on Dongting Lake. Next to them were the two lakes' navy raiding formations. Officially, it could be said to be acting training, but the movement was a bit louder. That’s all
This time, if the old emperor had not patrolled the south, Dongting Lake would have been bloody and all life would have stopped.In fact, no one dared to explode. There were many ferocious desperadoes in the boat gang, but not being afraid of death did not mean that they wanted to die. The Hubei Navy's massive campaign scared not only the various naval forces.

In the process of internal rectification in Hunan, the heads of three leaders of the Hunan Gang who had serious complaints from the public were also taken away to quell the public complaints.
Therefore, the situation in Hunan, from top to bottom, from officials to thieves, was in decline. What the old emperor could see was naturally a prosperous and peaceful southern country, its customs and customs.