Han Shizu

Chapter 2111 Kangzong Chapter 3 The Bin incident

Prince Lu's Mansion, South Hall.

This was the place where King Lu Liu Ai mainly studied and worked when he lived in the palace. The Mid-Autumn Festival wind was already a bit cold, but the anxiety brought by the wind was obviously not as much as the pressure brought by the owner's changes in mood.

King Lu's expression was obviously not that good-looking, and the invisible pressure enveloped everyone in the hall, making it almost breathless, especially for the prefect Liu Wei who was kneeling in the hall.

"So, you came back like this?" Liu Yan asked coldly, staring directly at the frightened Liu Wei.

Feeling the anger of King Lu, Liu Wei kowtowed in fear and said: "Your Majesty, if I don't try my best, I am really helpless. The entire leadership of the Bin Mansion has been eroded by the Andong Kingdom. King Andong's orders are far more useful than the imperial decrees. If I stay here for a long time, , fearing life is in danger.

I am not afraid of death, but I have not only received the emperor's salary but also been favored by the king. After careful consideration, I boldly decided to hide my face and leave. I returned to the capital with hatred, reported my situation and warned the court."

Hearing what Liu Wei said, Liu Yan was stunned. This explanation can be called "fresh and refined". The key is that he really dared to say it in front of him. He was so sincere and sincere, as if They are really consistent on the surface and consistent with their words and deeds.

"So, you still bear the humiliation and are loyal to the country. Should I, on behalf of the imperial court, reward you for your loyalty?" Liu Mian laughed angrily and said in a serious tone: "Resigning your official position, abandoning the city and sacrificing the people is what you should do. , That’s very reasonable, Liu Wei, Liu Wei, I really underestimated you in the past!"

"Your Majesty, my lord." Facing Liu Ai's cold gaze, Liu Wei's psychology was not that "strong" after all. Even if he wanted to defend himself, it would be difficult for him to make any "big talk". I can hesitate there.

"What kind of loyalty are you showing, what kind of warning are you showing!" Liu Yan started to curse angrily: "An Dong is a feudal lord of the Han Dynasty, established by the ancestors of the Han Dynasty, and is connected by blood with the Han Dynasty. It is difficult to distinguish each other. What do you want to do, alienate the family ties of the Tian family? , Gossip disrupts government, and monstrous talk harms the country?"

None of the things Liu Yan mentioned could be endured by a mere prefect (or a prefect who abandoned his post and fled). For a moment, Liu Wei didn't care about anything else and kowtowed to apologize: "I made a mistake! I am guilty!"

After venting his anger, Liu Ai slowly calmed down and stared at Liu Wei coldly, his mind spinning wildly. I still had time to take a look at Liu Wei. He looked miserable. He had escaped from the Bin residence, but his clothes were very neat and clean.

It is foreseeable that Liu Wei's escape from office will cause shock and bad influence in the Han Dynasty. First of all, since the time of Shizu, there have not been many cases of "abandoning the city" during the war years, but it has happened in today's peaceful era, and it has happened so naturally and smoothly.

Secondly, Liu Wei was born in Prince Lu's palace and was a staff member that Liu Ai valued highly before. He was transferred to the Bin Palace six months ago. He was originally entrusted with an important task. It was hoped that he could clean up the chaos there and control the Anton Kingdom. Erosion over there.

But in the end, things went against expectations. Liu Wei was obviously just a "strong-talking king". He failed to control the situation in the Bin Mansion, and was instead dealt with by others, causing a scandalous "official abandonment incident".

A small Liu Wei is insignificant, but when King Lu is involved, the impact is huge. Liu Ai himself is at the center of the vortex of right and wrong in power. Once this incident spreads, it will definitely have a blow to Liu Ai's reputation.

At the same time, this matter also brought out an issue that the court had always ignored or deliberately avoided, that is, the issue of handling relations with feudal states at home and abroad. In this regard, it has always been a mess.

In the Taizong era, it was completely clear that "living separately" should be done, but relatives still need to be kept, and relationships are still maintained, so they will inevitably face a series of contradictions and problems.

Shizu was still in the business construction period, and all problems were just development issues. By the time of Taizong, the feudal system had passed its infancy and had achieved certain results. However, due to Taizong's absolute orthodoxy and sufficient authority, the brothers and nephews from various countries did not dare to attack, and everything relied on the empire. The rules come.

After Taizong also left, the situation slowly changed. In the long years of development and accumulation, each feudal state gradually formed a self-awareness, and one issue became increasingly clear, that is, the interests of the states and the empire. The hubs are not entirely consistent.

This inconsistency will inevitably cause some conflicts between the two parties in the process of dealing with each other. If the feudal country wants something from the central government, the central government must respond. This situation has completely passed. However, the situation of the feudal country wanting something from the central government is still a reality and will continue for a long time. Conflicts are also accompanied by interests. Development and development.

At the moment, Anton is the feudal state that is most adaptable to this subtle and complex relationship change, or it can be said that he is actively seeking change. The problems in the Shubin Mansion are the product of the mentality of seeking change and greed for profit. This has been doomed even since the emperor Shizu enfeoffed Anton.

After all, the Shuibin Mansion, which has a port that leads directly to the Whale Sea, is the most important window for Anton's external exchanges besides Liaodong Road. However, this window is in the hands of the imperial court.

In the past ten years, Anton's dignitaries, landowners, and merchants have led Binfu to transport goods by sea to earn profits and Anton's scarce resources, and their scale has become larger and larger. Although the transactions on land are frequent, the restrictions are huge and far less free than those in the Zuibin Mansion.

The interests are great and there are many involved. Anton naturally wants to ask for safety and stability, and puts the Bin Mansion under its own control. Real control of this commercial port is what a group of Anton's powerful people headed by Anton King Liu Wenyuan are striving for. .

For more than ten years, little secret actions have been going on. Of course, during the Taizong period, they had to be relatively restrained. They just added sand to the Binfu Mansion. Unable to get a breakthrough from the court level, they started from the bottom up, including officials, soldiers, and officials dispatched by the court. , but much easier to prepare.

In the second year of Pingkang, Zhu Cong, the prefect of Zuibin, passed away. The Ministry of Civil Affairs discussed the candidate for his successor. Considering the special situation there and the restless actions of the Andong Kingdom in Zuibin Mansion and the surrounding areas, Liu Wei was recommended by Liu Ming. Wei goes.

Before leaving, Liu Yan specifically told Liu Wei that he should quickly rectify the chaos in the Bin Mansion and restore "order". The hands, feet, and minions of the Andong Kingdom should be beheaded when they are needed. There is no need for too much. He has many worries, as he has the support of the imperial court. Even Liu Yan bluntly said that Liu Wei went to lead the Bin Mansion to rectify political and business affairs just to give Anton a warning and make him calm down.

However, Liu Wei was overwhelmed and returned in embarrassment. Although it is not clear what means Liu Wenyuan used to scare Liu Wei to pieces, but the result was that King Lu was placed in an embarrassing situation and the court was also greatly embarrassed.

In the hall, the invisible aura was always oppressing everyone. After a long time, Liu Yan came back to his senses from the thoughts about the impact of this matter. He raised his eyes and looked at Liu Wei. How much he appreciated it at first, he now hates it.

The troubles in the future will be solved later, but if the person in front of him is not dealt with, Liu Yan will not be able to get through it no matter what.

"Somebody come!"

Hearing the sound, an attendant immediately stood up from the left side of the hall: "Listen to your Majesty's instructions!"

Liu Yan took out a piece of official paper and started writing. From his eyes to his movements, everything showed a sharp aura. After waving it off, he signed his seal and handed it to the attendant. He coldly ordered: "You take this document and detain this thief to the Ministry of Punishment. Let Xu Shilian (the Minister of Punishment) punish him according to the law, and he will be severely punished!"

"Yes!"

Obviously, Liu Ai had murderous intentions. Of course, with Liu Wei's behavior, it would be difficult to survive. When Liu Wei heard this, his face turned pale, and he collapsed to the ground, begging for mercy: "Your Majesty, have mercy on me! Your Majesty, please have mercy on me!" Upon hearing this, Liu Yan became even more furious, pointing up with his hand, and said angrily: "There is a sky above, and below there is a sky. There are laws and regulations, and I can spare you, but the law of heaven and the law will never forgive you!"

"You came back very calmly, but you brought one more thing!" Liu Yan's eyes were no longer emotionless, and he cursed: "I really want to rip off your pig's head and see what's inside! "

The stupid and cowardly Liu Wei was taken away, but the trouble and anger could not be taken away, and Liu Ai couldn't help but cast a shadow on his heart. Seeing that Liu Ming was so angry that he couldn't help but offer words of comfort. However, this only made Liu Ming lose his temper even more.

Behind the disappointment and anger, there was Liu Yan's deep sense of shame. He even had the urge to slap himself a few times, secretly cursing himself for being blind and losing his mind, for actually treating a useless chicken as a phoenix and a mediocre person as a capable person. However, the psychological gap caused by this contrast between before and after was what made him most uncomfortable.

It is true that the former Liu Wei was too deceptive. He was born as a Jinshi and spent many years in the shogunate. He had clear ideas, eloquent speech, and often had "amazing" insights when encountering problems. It was not that he had no experience in local government. He had served as a judge in Fenzhou. , in the Yongxi Dynasty, he was somewhat associated with "reform talents".

Since the end of the Kaibao period, Liu Yan began to enter the central government and serve as counselor in state affairs. For nearly twenty years, he promoted many people, but not many stood out, and Liu Wei was one of the people he admired very much.

Now it seems that there is gold and jade on the outside, but ruins on the inside. The more Liu Min thinks about this conclusion, the more heartbroken and angry he becomes. That's all, we still have to clean up the mess left by this idiot.

You can imagine how embarrassed Liu Ai felt at the regular meeting of the Political Affairs Hall the next day. It is impossible not to mention Liu Wei's abandonment of his official position and escape from Beijing. For example, Kou Zhun, who has always been highly aggressive, insinuations asked Liu Ai for advice on how to deal with it. If Zhang Qixian had not smoothed things over, Liu Ai would have been unable to escape. tower.

Of course, just as Liu Ai had been thinking and calculating before, these high-ranking officials in the empire center were more concerned about what was revealed behind this matter than the little Liu Wei.

Liu Wei's escape was not completely meaningless. At least the people in power in the central government clearly knew that the imperial court's rule over the Bin Mansion was probably in name only.

To be honest, these auxiliary ministers of the Han Dynasty may not care much about the Binfu Mansion. After all, it is too far away. The land terrain is complex, the transportation is not smooth, and the environment is harsh. At sea, it is far away from Korea and Japan. Two countries.

Even though the civilization there has grown rapidly and has become very prosperous due to the development of Anton's dignitaries and surrounding merchants, and has become one of the few trading ports in Northeast Asia, it is still a remote frontier for the Han Empire.

If the ancestors hadn't left a note when dividing the map, which would have always been recorded on the imperial maps and imperial books, no one would have taken the initiative to mention it for decades. Even so, it is still a neglected place, and the only attention is only because there is an Andong Kingdom there, and a not so peaceful King Anton.

It is true that the status of Shuibin Mansion within the imperial court is very low, or it has almost no status, and it is only regarded as a treasure by the Andong Kingdom. But even so, you, Anton, can't rob him. It's just a small trick in the dark. You can't do it blatantly.

Under normal circumstances, even if you only maintain a nominal rule, you can turn a blind eye. When the lid is covered, there will be no problem. The "Liu Wei incident" just lifted the lid and exposed the contradiction.

No matter how incompetent Liu Wei is and how inappropriate his actions are, you, An Dongguo, drove away the prefect who was ordered by the imperial court. This is provocation and confrontation. To be serious, it is not an exaggeration to say that you have a disobedient heart. This kind of The situation is absolutely unacceptable.

At the same time, problems in the Andong Kingdom have emerged one after another in recent years, especially the officials and people in the border area between Liaodong Road and Andong, who have complained a lot. Generally speaking, the Anton Kingdom is too domineering, and everyone from the official to the private sector agrees that many people in Liaodong have suffered losses in exchanges and trade with Anton.

Moreover, even though he suffered a loss, he still did not come up with an explanation. After all, they could bring out Andong Kingdom and King Andong. Under normal circumstances, the officials and people in the border states and counties could not even invite the chief envoy, let alone ask the court to comment. On this kind of issue, the compromising nature of the bureaucracy is clearly visible. After all, if it makes a big fuss, they will be the first to benefit.

In the early years, whether it was Song Xiong, Murong Defeng or later Zheng Qi, they were all good at governing the border and caring for the people. They adhered to the bottom line, safeguarded the interests of the officials and people in Liaodong, and were strict with the unruly behavior of Anton. He also sternly rejected those excessive demands, so the contradiction was not obvious yet.

But in recent years, especially in the two years after Taizong's death, Anton has become increasingly unrestrained. Under this background, something like this happened at the Bin Mansion again. Those in power in the court knew that they had to take some measures.

Otherwise, if Anton continues to act unscrupulously, the authority of the Central Committee and the people of Liaodong will be severely damaged, and the negative consequences will most likely fall on those in power in the end.

On this matter, Liu Ai and the prime ministers quickly reached a consensus, but they had disagreements on the specific measures. Li Hang suggested sending an envoy to Anton to warn Anton, and at the same time coordinate on the outbreak of economic exchanges between Anton and other countries. He could even impose stricter measures on border markets and strengthen controls to put pressure on Anton. Andong Guo restrained.

Kou Zhun directly opposed Li Han's opinion and criticized him for being too weak. In Kou Zhun's view, such a move was like scratching the surface of an itch and trying to stop the boiling water. Instead of restraining the Andong Kingdom, it would make him look down upon. This It's an act of cowardice.

How can we be unreasonable in the Andong Kingdom? If Anton had abided by the law, and if King Anton was willing to restrain and govern the people, there wouldn't be so many troubles now.

Therefore, Kou Zhun finally gave an extremely strong suggestion. It was necessary to send officials to the Bin Mansion to take over, and this time he could not go with just the order and official credentials like his predecessor Liu Wei. There must be more Strong support.

Kou Zhun's strong support mainly refers to two aspects. One is to replace all the garrison officers and soldiers in the Binfu Mansion, and the imperial court will provide another thousand officers and soldiers to accompany the new prefect to take office. The second is to dispatch a fleet from the East China Sea Navy to escort him to office on the grounds of training.

Then the imperial court sent envoys to Anton to emphasize legal rule and declare attitudes, rather than "discussions" and "coordination."

Among the many prime ministers in the political hall, Kou Zhun had the lowest qualifications and the youngest age, less than fifty years old. His temperament was disgusting and his style was criticized. However, the understanding of some things and the judgment of problems have always been clear and clear.

As the "latest assistant minister" appointed by Emperor Taizong, Kou Zhun's position was particularly firm, and he was bound to be tough on the issue of maintaining the authority of the central government.

In the end, Kou Zhun's opinion was adopted. It was because of the nature of the matter that the prime ministers were forced by the situation to have little choice.

This also opened a new stage for the empire's center in its relations with feudal countries and its handling of feudal country affairs!

To realize Kou Zhun's plan, the Privy Council cannot avoid it. The matter of dispatching troops and generals has to be decided by the Privy Council.

One thing must be mentioned. No matter how the court has changed in the past two years and the battles have continued, the Privy Council and the military power it represents have not yet been involved.

The issue of the military has always been sensitive. On this issue, all parties have restrained themselves and no one dares to cross the line easily. Therefore, the military and political affairs of the empire were still centered on the Privy Council, controlled by generals such as Li Jilong, Yang Yanzhao, Guo Yi, and Ma Huaiyu, as well as the intricate military groups behind them.

Just as the ministers who control the political power do not dare to easily violate military power, the military system also does not dare to overstep. This is also determined by the system. The existing set of rules that have been in operation for decades are strictly constrained at least from the consciousness level. Everyone.

The end of the military power lies with the emperor, and the emperor of the Han Empire has not yet learned how to use the power he should have

(End of this chapter)