Linzhi

Several men in their 40s and [-]s were escorted in by the soldiers and pushed down the steps. Without exception, they had their hands tied behind their backs.

Tan Jin was in the upper position, looked at their desperation, smiled and said: "It seems that you have been doing well recently, all of you are wearing gold and silver, if you encircle and suppress them later, don't you want to become kings on your own?" gone?"

These people were all bandits from the nearby mountains and forests. The Turkic people entered the pass and the imperial court went south, causing a period of turmoil in the north. Driving south, for fear of being harmed by the Turks.Without the officials appointed by the imperial court, some local big clans had to unite to temporarily replace the yamen for jurisdiction and ruling. Panicked, the world is in turmoil, these people are like fish in water, and their days are much more nourishing than before. Some people directly collude with the bandits, use the money obtained from robbing the people to recruit their subordinates, and make the village bigger and bigger.

He Rong and the others went back to Chang'an this time, and on the way, they cleaned up many bandits like this, and at the same time appeased those state capitals without leaders. Then choose more suitable candidates from the local area.

In fact, the menacing Turkic people really frightened many people, but people of insight can see that although the Turkic people are fierce, they are absolutely impossible to stay in the Central Plains for a long time. When the demons dance wildly, those with ulterior motives will take the opportunity to make waves. For example, the rebels in Taiyuan and Luoyang seem to be powerful, but in fact there are clans behind them waving their flags and shouting.Faced with this situation, how to calm people's hearts and restore order is a question that needs to be considered by the court first. Once the court is unable to deal with it, or is busy with internal strife, and there are tyrants who take advantage of the chaos, the power of the dynasty will come to an end.

And the most suffering are nothing more than the common people.

From Tan Jin’s point of view, with King An around now, the court’s fortunes are not exhausted, and maybe there is still some rejuvenation, just because King An acts calmly and meticulously, what should be done and what should not be done, he has his own steelyard in his heart , and these are exactly what a ruler needs most.

If it were someone else, they might be afraid that Chang'an would be occupied first, and they would be at a disadvantage. Without further ado, they would go straight to Chang'an. How can they control the chaos along the road, but they walked steadily and slowly along the way, cleaning everything up. It seems cumbersome, but it can not only make the magistrates along the way feel the prestige of King An, give reassurance to those who keep their own laws, but also sound the alarm for those who are about to make trouble, and at the same time clear up many worries for future governance. , so that there will be no embarrassing situation where the decree is unreasonable.

Like now, these bandits were being held under the steps, and they were the ones who took care of them when they passed by Wannian County. Naturally, these little people don't need An Wang to go out in person. Even Tan Jin sitting here to interrogate himself is a Lift them up.

The county magistrate of Wannian County did not follow suit, but when the Turkic people plundered Chang'an, he was so scared that he hid in the suburbs and came back afterwards. As a result, the county had been controlled by the local clan, he couldn't control the situation, and almost became a Puppet, fortunately when King An came, he killed a group of people without saying a word, frightened the hearts of the people, and left some food to stabilize the local food price. Only then did the court regain the right to speak, and the county magistrate also He didn't dare to pretend to be a grandson anymore, so he hurried to work hard, for fear that King An would get rid of him soon if he got upset.

Tan Jin was not interested in interrogating these bandits, so he waved his hand after saying a few words, and asked them to take them down. With the laws of the court, he could deal with them as he wanted.

Seeing that he seemed to be in a good mood, the county magistrate smiled and said, "I heard that His Highness's legs and feet have been feeling a little uncomfortable recently, and I specially found a doctor who specializes in orthopedics in the county. I don't know where His Highness is..."

Tan Jin interrupted him: "You don't need to worry about His Highness's affairs, Fu Nian is dead, the Turkic people have already started to evacuate outside the customs, and there will be no more foreign invasion. You must remember what His Highness told you earlier, Wannian County is One of Chang’an’s sects must manage well, and don’t be reluctant to seek business just because you are afraid of offending the big family.”

The county magistrate is busy handing over his hands.

Fu Nian died of serious injuries during the retreat to the north.When He Rong and the others got the news, the Turkic people had already started internal strife. It is said that there were two groups inside at that time, one group was the former confidant of Fu Nian, who wanted to stay in the north to rule, and the other group thought that the hometown of the Turkic people had always been in the north. Grassland, and I feel that the people in the Central Plains are different, they must be renounced, and they can’t kill them all. Anyway, they have robbed enough property and slaves this time. Just grab it.

Later, the forces advocating retreat gained the upper hand. After some internal strife, the new Khan, Ashina Chi, came to power. As soon as he took the position, he ordered to retreat. Xiao Chong led people to pursue him at this time. There were several incidents between the two sides. Conflicts, there are winners and losers, but because the Turks robbed too many property slaves, which seriously affected the speed of marching, they could not give full play to the advantages of the Turkic cavalry, and were often beaten by Xiao Chong. is at a disadvantage.

In order to speed up the pace of going back, Chi Du had no choice but to order his subordinates to abandon some slaves. Xiao Zhong took the opportunity to propose negotiation conditions to the Turks, asking them for the kidnapped slaves, and said that if the Turks were willing to release all the slaves, he could Let them return to Turks safely.

Xiao Zhong did this because of He Rong's instruction.Most of the property stolen by the Turkic people was gold and silver jewelry and porcelain. Although these things were valuable, they were not irreplaceable for people's livelihood. Moreover, the Turkic people brought these things back for the purpose of pleasure for the upper class nobles. It would pose too great a threat to the Central Plains, but it is of great significance to release the slaves and let them return to their hometowns for reunion.On the one hand, after the chaos, the fields were barren, and labor was urgently needed to cultivate them. On the other hand, the reunion of separated relatives would inevitably make them return to the court.The hearts of the people in the world are stable, there is land to cultivate and food to eat, so naturally they will not follow the bandits to make trouble.

Giving up money while asking for people is also leaving a way out for the Turkic people, otherwise they will be forced to have nowhere to go, and then they will rise up to resist, but it will be difficult-with the current situation in the Central Plains and the strength in He Rong's hands, it is still impossible to completely let go of their hands and feet. The Turks fought.

Back in front of him, Tan Jin said a few words to Wannian County Magistrate, and then asked him to back down, while he got up and walked to the back hall.

He Rong was reviewing official documents and battle reports, without raising his head, when he heard familiar footsteps, he asked, "Have those thieves been taken care of?"

Tan Jin replied respectfully: "Yes, these little thieves are easy to catch, but I feel that the magistrate Wannian is a little timid and fearful. He is worried that after His Highness leaves, he will not be able to control the situation and will be held by those big clans again."

He Rong put down his pen and raised his head, a little helpless: "If you send someone from outside rashly, you will be deceived because you don't know the situation. I have killed a group of people a few days ago. After the thunderstorm, it is time to use the method of spring wind and rain. I can't keep beating and killing, the county magistrate has been in the local area for a few years, and those people have just been shocked by me, so they don't dare to go too far."

Tan Jin sighed: "People at that time thought that it was difficult to be an official in a troubled world, but they didn't know that the most important test of ability is to govern the chaos and bring peace to the people."

He Rong smiled slightly: "That's a good point, but people are tempered. To be elected as an official, they must have their abilities. There are very few people who are really fake, and most of them are mediocre because of laziness."

Although he knew that King An was just expressing his feelings, Tan Jin couldn't help but think of himself in the past, and thought that if he hadn't met King An, he would still be a person who just wants to be safe and doesn't think about making progress.

"I don't know what's going on in the south. I hope Zhou Yi can defend Lingnan, and don't let those Nanyi people follow Li Kuan to make trouble." He said.

He Rong glanced at him: "Is this missing an old friend?"

Tan Jin's face became hot: "Your Highness is joking. When that guy is by my side, he always knows how to run on me. I wish he would stay away!"

He Rong said: "After rectifying the chaos in Lingnan, and with Sangza here, there won't be any major problems. After all, the Nanyi people are no different from the people in the Central Plains. If everyone's life is easy, who will eat enough to support them and follow the plan?" Chaos?"

Tan Jin's clear voice should be yes, but he immediately looked a little hesitant, as if he wanted to say something, but he was still pondering it in his heart.

He Rong saw it: "Speak up if you have something to say."

Tan Jin hesitated and said: "Your Highness, you should know that this official is loyal, and you are definitely not a villain who stirs up good things. This official also knows that you and King Xing are deeply in love with each other and cannot be separated from others. It's just that King Xing has been away for many years, and there are many people around you." Some people, when the current situation is chaotic, they will inevitably have some thoughts, fearing that they will incite King Xing and affect the friendship between the two Highnesses."

He Rong smiled but said, "I've wanted to say what you said since Goro was around. It's not easy to hold back for so long!"

Tan Jin blushed and said, "Your Highness is aware of everything, and I have nothing to say."

"I know that there are indeed some people around him who are very restless, and even want Wulang to wear a yellow robe so that he can earn the merit of being a dragon."

He Rong was so blunt and straightforward, but Tan Jin was a little confused.

Does Your Highness care about this or not?

He weighed his words carefully and said: "Your Highness is wise, if you don't want to come forward, I can invite Empress Pei..."

In the past, whenever the late emperor hesitated, he would ask Empress Pei for advice. What's even more rare is that Empress Pei not only did not use this to play with power, but instead took the initiative to back down. Respect, even Li Kuan, even though he blamed Empress Pei for the death of the first emperor, saying that she looked virtuous on the outside and cunning on the inside, but he couldn't deny Empress Pei's performance over the years, so the fact that Empress Pei killed the emperor is actually true. Not many people believe it.

If King An ascends the throne in the future, Empress Pei will naturally be a justifiable empress dowager. Asking Empress Pei to take care of the generals around His Royal Highness King Xing can also avoid direct conflicts between brothers and create rifts.

He Rong shook his head: "It doesn't have to be like this."

"Your Highness?"

"Goro is no longer a child. He also has his own ideas, and he is not a soft-hearted person. I don't need to stand up for him and make decisions for him. He is willing to give up everything he has managed and surrender to me, which is enough to show Mind, if I still don't believe in him, even if he doesn't believe in it now, he will in the future."

Tan Jin was terrified when he heard this: "This..."

He Rong patted him on the shoulder: "The universe is so big that it can accommodate all things. Why are you afraid of the wind and rain and the change of people's hearts? Take ten thousand steps back and say, if even he can't believe it, who else in the world can be trusted?"

Tan Jin thinks about it too, although it is common for the brothers of the Tian family to fight against each other, and father and son turn against each other, but there are no exceptions. King Xing's affection for King An since he was a child is not something he, an outsider, can comment on.

He Rong said: "I heard that the queen gave birth to a little prince. They were exhausted from the journey. Eleven Lang is young and weak, and he is prone to illness. You go to the city a few times before me, and find a doctor with better medical skills, just in case."

Tan Jin agreed, and set off for Chang'an with some people the next day.

In fact, Empress Pei and the others traveled a little faster than Tan Jin. Before Tan Jin arrived, they had already entered the city, and even encountered an unexpected situation.