Establishing a thousand-year family from the nobles of the Western Han Dynasty

Chapter 122 Instructions and Spies

"Xuzhou Mu, what we want is very simple. We just want to have the same status as ordinary Han people in the area, collect the same taxes and do the same labor service."

"I wonder if this can be achieved?" asked a burly Qiang man.

In fact, the reason why they disobeyed the court was very simple. It was because they were exploited too much. They were constantly levied heavy taxes and a large number of soldiers were conscripted.

They were almost used as cannon fodder on the front line, unless they were elite warriors from the Qiang tribe. There were also quite a few foreign cavalry from Liangzhou.

But overall they were still treated as cattle and horses. Under constant oppression, conflicts naturally intensified, and some people who did not submit to the status quo chose to lead their people in rebellion.

This can actually be stopped. If you want to govern these barbaric Qiang people, in addition to maintaining equality in status, you must also have sufficient military support!
They are extremely warlike, and there is no point in suppressing them militarily. When the main force of the Han Dynasty had not yet withdrawn, both the powerful and foreigners were as docile as kittens.

There is no chance of winning a head-on confrontation with the imperial court. Even though the army has been massively disbanded, the central government's northern and southern armies are conservatively estimated to have 200,000 elite troops, which are enough to suppress everything inside and outside.

The Xu family did control the local area, but they did not have independent conscription rights and could only recruit some county soldiers according to the rules to maintain daily affairs such as suppressing bandits and maintaining public order. For example, the military strength in Nanyang was less than 3,000.

Only special places could obtain approval from the imperial court and conduct large-scale conscription, such as the border areas of You, Bing and Liang. In order to deal with bandits, Yangzhou was also given military power and could have relatively large troops.

But it is still not a lot. For example, the court only has 10,000 people in Liangzhou. It can be accommodated depending on the situation, but the court will no longer be responsible for the extra soldiers, food and supplies.

The Han Dynasty mainly adopted a military service system similar to the fubing system, which was essentially a system of trained civilians and specific military households.

Only some elite troops are recruited through conscription, and most of the elite troops of the Central Imperial Guard are of this type. The current military system is a mixture of conscription and military service, but conscription has not become the mainstream because the expenses are too high.

Being a soldier is originally an obligation, and all you need is food. Although the army's combat effectiveness will not be very high, it is definitely enough. Nowadays, everyone wants to have enough food to eat.

The conscription system is different. It requires bearing a large amount of military expenses, which is difficult for the treasury to support.

"This is natural. As long as you are in Han territory, you are a Han Chinese, but the prerequisite is to obey the court." Xu Yuan certainly agreed. In fact, this was the original rule.

The power of the prefect was limited, but the governor could completely change a state.

"Well, as long as the governor of Xuzhou can guarantee this, we will accept it." said the Qiang leader.

There are also tribal alliances among the Qiang people, which can basically determine the general attitude of this group.

Even if there are still those who disagree, they are very few and can be easily resolved by sending troops. The power of the imperial court is still very strong.

The reason why they are helpless is mainly because of various restrictions and Xu Yuan's identity is quite special.

He is the direct descendant of Jinghou Xu Zhen and a recognized powerful leader in the Han Dynasty. Therefore, he is close to powerful families such as the Ma and Chen families. He is also related to Xu Ning, so the Qiang people naturally respect him.

Therefore, with a few conditions, the three parties could reach a new compromise. From then on, the situation in Xiliang could be said to be firmly controlled by the Xu family, and the power that the Wang family could mobilize was weakened again.

This is the convenience of the family. If Xu Yuan was not the descendant of Jinghou and the nephew of the former general Xu Ning, then the problem could not be solved so quickly.

At least we have to hold out for a while.

The banquet ended quickly, and Xu Yuan did not continue to say farewell or anything, but went straight back to his governor's mansion in a carriage.

Now the problem is far from being resolved. At most, a breakthrough has been found. The local forces in Xiliang are willing to make concessions, but this is just the beginning. The subsequent coordination and checks and balances are the key points!
In addition, there is one more thing to do, that is to counterattack the three counties of Dunhuang and reopen the Hexi Corridor.

This was also given to him by the imperial court, and that was where the Qiang people were most rampant.

With the material support from the countries in the Western Regions, its power is far greater than that of Wuwei and Longxi.

.........

Chang'an, Prime Minister's Mansion.

Now the real helmsman of the two Xus, Xu Bo, who serves as the left prime minister and is in charge of government affairs, has fallen seriously ill. Since the death of Wang Feng, he has been ill and can only lie on the bed.

He also knew his body and was afraid that he would not live for many days.

But it was not a loss, at least he outlasted the old man Wang Feng and did not die before him. At the same time, his eldest son almost took over all government affairs, so the political situation was not shaken like when Wang Feng died of illness.

The impact of one's own death can be minimized.

"Father, you have to take good care of yourself." Xu Hua pushed the door open and walked in silently, holding the medicine, with worry written all over his face.

I am worried about my father's safety and the future of my family.

When the former general Wang Feng died, it did cause a great shock, but this was only short-lived. Now Wang Gen has taken control of the situation, and the core figures of the Wang party and the generals of the imperial guards have also been promised new benefits to complete the appeasement.

The most important thing for the Wang family to maintain their status is the absolute leadership of the imperial army! In other words, military power. Officials without the support of the army have always been unreliable, such as Wang Si in his early years.

He was the prime minister, possessing absolute political influence, and could even control the appointment of the three dukes and nine ministers. However, in the end, he was forced to fight back in front of a group of eunuchs and could only die in grief and anger.

One of the reasons was the lack of sufficient support from military generals. The person who held the military power at that time was General Xu Ning.

The hundreds of thousands of elite border troops from You and Bing were Xu Ning's staunch confidants, so they could handle themselves regardless of whether facing eunuchs or Confucian officials.

We rely on these 100,000 Xiao troops!

The Imperial Guards were in the hands of Emperor Yuan and were directly controlled by the emperor, so they were able to always hold on to power. In fact, the Confucian Party at its peak could only restrict them but could not undermine them.

If Emperor Yuan didn't care about the impact, he could kill all those who opposed him! This was the basis for him to support Shi Xian to become a powerful official.

But Emperor Li Liu Ao did not do a very good job. He appointed Wang Feng as the general, and Xu Ning was also a general. However, his father Emperor Yuan never gave up the power of the imperial guards!

This is no less than handing over the keys to your house to a stranger. How can you expect him not to steal things?

Back then, Wang Feng did something very impressive after taking power. He merged the more than 100,000 border troops that were inclined towards the Xu family into the imperial army! He directly gathered the military power of the entire Han Dynasty in his own hands! He became a powerful figure that even the emperor had to respect!
In short, the army is everything. The Xu family's ability to compete with the Wang family is essentially based on military power, that is, local control.

Although there are not many soldiers in the county, if pressed, hundreds of thousands of soldiers can be pulled out. Land represents population and resources! The Wang family used to be able to control the local areas through the central government, but now it is difficult.

The power to approve documents for local officials lies in the hands of the Law School of the Imperial College. They will not approve any documents nominated by the Wang family, and they have no way to do anything about it.

The Xu family is better off. As long as the power to approve central officials is in the hands of the Confucian Academy, the Confucian Academy will not make things difficult for them because of their ancestors.

The two houses are responsible for the Nine Ministers-level officials, the Three Dukes need the emperor's approval, and in principle, no one else has the right to make decisions.

Xu Bo drank the medicine his eldest son fed him and sighed, "My father is just barely surviving now, hanging on for a breath. I don't know when I will die."

"It all depends on you. I can't protect you forever. When my uncle, your great-uncle Xu Ning, passed away, the Xu family fell into complete decline."

"I don't want this kind of thing to happen again. The family can no longer afford another failure. Behind us is a bottomless abyss. If we are not careful, we will die without a burial place!"

"We must be cautious! We cannot directly confront the Wang family in the court. We just need to ensure stability in the local area. The only person who can take back the power of the imperial army is His Majesty. We don't need to worry about that."

"Also, you must not underestimate the Imperial College. After I die, it will be difficult for you to take over the Imperial College in a short period of time. If so, the convenience brought by the Imperial College will be greatly reduced. It is enough for you to maintain a good relationship."

Xu Bo was actually very worried, so he instructed many things, although they were actually useless.

Anyone who is not a fool knows what to do, but how to do it well is difficult.

Xu Hua nodded with tears in her eyes: "Don't worry, father. I know. I will definitely remember it well."

The current political structure of the Han Dynasty is a confrontation between Wang and Xu, with the Wang family having the upper hand. On a deeper level, it is a continuation of the struggle between local and central governments, and between Confucianism and Legalism.

The only difference is that the Xu family received collective recognition from the doctors of the Imperial College, but the Wang family did not receive support from the doctors of the Confucian Academy. They simply became the first choice for grassroots Confucian scholars.

In fact, the doctors of the Imperial Academy disliked the Wang family very much. They thought they were too extravagant and wasteful, which did not fit the image of a "saint" in their minds at all.

So of course it is impossible to like them. If you want to get the support of the doctors, you must first change this bad reputation before you can talk about it.

The Xu family's reputation at the grassroots level is another extreme. They are called "the family of saints" by the people. Their previous donations of grain and money were not completely unfair. At least their reputation has been spread again.

Before, everyone had only heard that the Xu family was good, but they had never experienced it themselves. Now they know it.

Especially in the core areas of Hebei, Nanyang and Runan, everyone responded enthusiastically and rushed to sell their land to the Xu family and become tenant farmers.

The reason is simple: the taxes are too high. In order to make up for the shortfall, the imperial court chose to impose heavy taxes in even the wealthiest places. The people were suffering, but there was nothing they could do.

Later, they found that it would be better for them to be tenant farmers of the Xu family than to farm on their own. At least they could get some protection and even harvest more food!
Because the powerful will hide their population to avoid taxes, and the Xu family is no exception. All crows are black, the intensity is not that great, but it still exists.

"You have to be careful of one person. Chunyu Chang is actually not a person to worry about." Xu Bo said calmly. He has already re-understood the current internal situation of the Wang family.

His Majesty has already begun to deprive the Imperial Guards of their military power. The specific method is to support his grandmother's Fu family and the Queen's Ding family as new foreign relatives and use magic to defeat magic.

At present, the only ones who can deal with the in-laws are the in-laws. With the addition of the Xu family's restraint outside, it is not impossible to defeat the Wang family.

But first we need to wait until Wang Gen dies of illness. Except for Wang Gen, basically no one in the Wang family has ever served in the imperial guards. Plus, without the support of the Imperial Academy, maybe we can succeed!
Apart from Xu Bo, the most prestigious person in Confucianism nowadays is not the chief doctor Li Nianzhao, but the current Grand Master Kong Guang!

Kong Guang’s family background is also quite extraordinary. He is a descendant of Confucius, who has a more famous title, that is, Confucius!
The most representative figure of Confucianism. If Xu Gong had not been respected too highly, the reputation of the Kong family should have surpassed that of the Xu family, at least this is the case among Confucianists.

But now it is different. Confucianism is no longer the only school of thought that is respected. The proportion of Legalism is also not low. Therefore, the famous Confucian figures such as Kong Jia are not so powerful anymore.

In terms of fame and status alone, Xu Gong is far superior to Confucius, mainly because Xu Gong was more comprehensive and promoted both Confucianism and Legalism.

Add to that the main debate between Confucianism and Legalism, and both sides are vying to brag about it, no matter how outrageous it is.

But it should not be underestimated. The Kong family was founded many years ago, but Kong Guang can still benefit from it.

But compared with the Xu family, it is far inferior. The prime minister has not been replaced in these years.

"Chun Yu Chang? He is not..." Xu Hua was silent.

After Xu Zhen became the Grand Tutor, in order to better control the court, he trained a large number of spies and scattered them throughout Chang'an. Later, when Xu Gong came to power, the scale and number of spies were increased again.

With restaurants of all sizes as a link, it is spread across the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty and has a very high influence. This is the intelligence force controlled by the heads of the Xu family in successive generations. Usually, it is mainly used to spy on military situations and collect intelligence. After the Xu family split, it was inherited by Xu Ye, that is, the Henan Xu family.

Of course, the Xu family in Qinghe also has corresponding spies, but neither the number nor the scale is as large as that of the Xu family in Henan.

Emperors have always had spies. For example, Emperor Wu monitored the entire Chang'an, but the scale was not as large as that of the

Xu Hua also initially inherited this spy group and learned many little-known secrets, such as Chunyu Chang.

Chunyu Chang was the nephew of Queen Mother Wang Zhengjun. He served Wang Feng closely when Wang Feng was seriously ill, and was therefore valued and regarded as Wang Gen's successor.

But this guy had a fatal "scandal", that is, he had an affair with Empress Xu's sister, Lady Xu Xu, the wife of Long'e Sihou Han Bao! This one thing was enough for Liu Xin to remove him from office.

No wonder my father said this person is not a concern.

"What you really need to pay attention to is Wang Mang! He has great ambitions." Xu Bo saw clearly the intention of this junior. This person wanted to change the stereotype of the Wang family among the doctors of the Imperial College!
He is also very capable. At present, he is not much worse than Wang Feng in terms of governance or political tactics.

"Okay... I understand." Xu Hua nodded as if he realized the seriousness of the matter.

Wang Mang also had spies around him, but their number was very small.

(End of this chapter)