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

Chapter 128 Preparation
"Yes, sir." Nanyang Governor Zheng Tai immediately agreed.

At this time, Xu Zhong had almost absolute authority in Jingzhou, which was no less than that of the princes before Emperor Jingdi's Enfeoffment Order, including in Yangzhou.

After all, the main task given to him by the court was to eliminate local bandits to ensure the implementation of central authority, so after a long period of war, his reputation had become quite terrifying.

Xu Zhong put down the secret order, stood up, looked at the spectacular night sky outside the window, feeling very heavy.

He was very sad. He had been busy with the political and military affairs of Jingzhou all this time, and he didn't even see his father for the last time. He was so unfilial! He didn't know how he would face his father in the afterlife.

"Send another message to Zhu Chun, asking him to mobilize 30,000 troops to be stationed in Nanyang. The troops in Jingzhou must also be concentrated!"

"My father just died. I'm afraid those guys will do something unforeseeable! We must be cautious. We need to raise troops for a thousand days and use them for a moment! The court spends tens of millions of dollars every year, and it's used just at this time."

Born as a Confucian general, Xu Zhong is by no means a soft-hearted person. Without a ruthless heart, he cannot stand firm. If he wants to establish his authority in this place, it is not enough to just show favor. He has already dismissed or even executed many officials with a salary of two thousand stones.

After all, the imperial court allowed him to hold the imperial seal, and life and death were all decided by a single thought. Of course, the prerequisite was to find a reasonable result.

At that time, the war was intense and people could be killed at will on the charge of fighting poorly. But now it is not so possible. Even the emperor would throw dirty water on his subjects when executing them, let alone him.

"This... Governor, mobilizing troops without authorization is a serious crime. Although His Majesty trusts you and will not blame you, there are more than just people with the surname Xu in the court. If you take advantage of this, it will be difficult to explain."

An officer looked embarrassed. These were tens of thousands of people! Nanyang was only a hundred miles away from Guanzhong. What was the purpose of suddenly mobilizing a large number of troops? Although his original intention was to deter the traitors.

But what if Your Majesty doesn't believe it? Even if the Liu family is in decline, the emperor is still the emperor. It will not benefit anyone if they fall out.

The time has not yet come for the heroes to compete for supremacy, and the Han's Julu has not been lost yet.

"They said that the bandits in Nanyang had revived, so they were completely blocked and eliminated to prevent them from causing disasters."

"Just say it was my order. If His Majesty wants to hold me accountable, I will take full responsibility!"

Xu Zhong's attitude is very decisive. Wang Gen is a typical "cry at the sight of a coffin". The biggest difference between him and his brother Wang Feng is courage. He is timid in everything.

"As you command, do you need to send a message back to Liangzhou? The death of Prime Minister Xu is a big deal."

"Well... no need, Youlin should be leaving soon."

Youlin is Xu Yuan's pen name.

My brother should not only have told me the news of Xu Bo's death, but also the important officials of the Xu family who were scattered around the country should have received the news one after another.

First of all, everyone is qualified to know, and the second is Wang Gen's side.

This is also the reason why Xu Zhong insisted on mobilizing troops. With so many key figures concentrated in Chang'an, the risk is very high.

What if the other party decides to take a gamble and just go for broke? Then everything will be over.

That is the territory that the enemy cannot conquer! It is necessary to make some deployments. Wang Gen is rational and may have such an idea, but he will give up after weighing the pros and cons.

This idea is too crazy, no less than starting a civil war, but doing so will be more convenient for Liu Xin.

He was able to take advantage of this opportunity to regain power.

.........

Youzhou, Guangyang.

The next person to receive the news was Xu Min. He was the leader of Qinghe Xu and should have been a person of the same level as Xu Hua.

However, his father Xu Ming was defeated when he served as the Imperial Censor, causing the power of the entire family to plummet. They basically retreated to their base in Hebei, which had become quite successful after Xu Min's management for many years.

If one wants to hold a position in this place, one must first compromise with Qinghe, otherwise one will not be able to move forward. Strictly speaking, this has already seriously threatened the imperial power.

In this era when imperial power does not extend to the countryside, this grassroots control is particularly terrifying. In any other era, it would have been suppressed. Emperor Xuan at that time was merely afraid of the influence of the central government.

Fortunately, this is an era when imperial power is declining. The greater the power of loyal ministers, the more beneficial it is for the emperor.

If it weren't for the Xu family's power in the local area, Liu Xin would probably have a much harder time. Now he is at most showing weakness in Chang'an, and no one in the local area dares to disobey his orders.

Previously, the governor of Donghai secretly disobeyed the court, expanded the army on a large scale, and had the intention of establishing his own country, which aroused Liu Xin's anger. He ordered him to immediately disband the army and transfer other counties. The governor of Donghai rebelled in fear and captured several places in Qingzhou. The court then ordered Xu Min, the governor of Youzhou, to send troops.

Xu Min responded immediately and personally led 5,000 elite cavalry to force the governor of Donghai to resign and return home. When he refused, he immediately crossed the Yellow River and engaged the defenders in a battle. All the counties in Donghai surrendered almost immediately. No one dared to challenge him, and he put down the Qingzhou rebellion with lightning speed.

This also made up for his lack of military achievements and established his prestige among the Youzhou border troops, although it was not bad at all.

In recent years, Xu Min has been in Youzhou resisting the Wuhuan people and has frequently sent troops. Although he could not lead the troops himself, he was always at the front line and was recognized by the soldiers.

Liu Xin became increasingly satisfied with their outstanding military achievements, because these five governors had made considerable achievements and were obedient to the court.

This means that Liu Xin's decision was quite correct. The establishment of governors in some prefectures and counties was not a move to destroy the country, but a correct decision to stabilize the Liu family's rule! Xu Min's status also rose. Last month, he repelled the Wuhuan again and was promoted to General Zhenbei by the court.

Although he is still not as good as Xu Zhong in Jingzhou.

"What's wrong, father? I feel like you're not in a good mood."

"My uncle, your great-uncle passed away." Xu Min looked at his eldest son in front of him and said silently.

After hearing this, Xu Shu, the eldest son of Xu Min, felt it was unexpected but also reasonable.

The old prime minister had been in the court for many years, and his sudden death was hard to accept, but it was also predictable.

Xu Bo had been seriously ill three years ago, and death seemed to be a matter of time.

“This… when did it happen?” Xu Shu studied in a Confucian academy in his early years. When his father was demoted as the prefect of Qinghe, he came to his hometown of Qinghe with him, and continued his studies in Jizhou Imperial College. In the first year of the reign of Emperor Wu of the Qing Dynasty, he was recommended as a filial and incorruptible official by a doctor of the law school. Now he serves as a county lieutenant in Guangyang. He has followed his father for a long time, made many military exploits, and his political achievements are also remarkable.

He is the recognized successor of the Qinghe Xu family. His rival is Xu Yuan, the eldest son of Xu Hua, who serves as the magistrate of a county attached to the capital. At present, his ability and prestige are far inferior to Xu Hua. Xu Yuan also has military merits. He previously followed Xu Zhong to quell Wang Tong's rebellion.

But in fact, the most outstanding person was not Xu Yuan, but Xu Zhong’s son Xu Guang, who was able to lead troops to garrison in Jiangxia when he was only 25 years old.

He was very capable and once defeated two thousand Jiangdong bandits with only fifty people. His military talent was unmatched!
"It should be a while. Even if we travel day and night from the capital to Youzhou, it will take at least seven days."

"We got the news probably after Xu Zhong did. I guess that guy has already set off. There was also movement in Liangzhou yesterday. Two thousand Xiliang cavalrymen went out together. It seems that they want to show off their military power in front of the Wang family."

Xu Min deduced from some details that Xu Yuan had recently defeated the Qiang people entrenched in Dunhuang, recovered the Hexi Corridor, and was preparing to reopen the Western Regions. It was a time when he needed manpower, but at this critical juncture he suddenly dispatched thousands of the most elite cavalry troops, which was not illogical.

Xu Yuan is definitely not a reckless person, so the answer is obvious. He should go straight to the outskirts of Chang'an.

Local troops cannot enter Chang'an, but there is no problem for them to wander around Chang'an. As long as they find a good excuse, no one will dare to say anything. If something unexpected happens, those troops can immediately head to the capital!

If you don't pay attention, you will be caught off guard.

"Then father, shall we go too?"

"Of course I have to go. This is my uncle, your great-uncle! We must show our gratitude to him. Besides, the fact that our family is so peaceful in Hebei is definitely not without your great-uncle's help."

"Otherwise, would Wang Feng of the past allow his defeated subordinates to accumulate strength?"

Xu Min’s meaning was very decisive, which was to go to Beijing immediately and make a big move!

Xu Zhong and Xu Yuan have mobilized the troops, and they also need to prepare themselves. It is better to be safe than sorry, and not to capsize in the ditch and let Wang Gen turn the situation around.

Now the Wang family is basically not far from decline. Unless all the top leaders of the Xu family die suddenly, there is no way to stop the increasingly intense power grab.

The Ding family has been supported. Ding Zhaoyi's brother is now a former general and has been granted the title of Grand Marshal. He has been eyeing the military power in Chang'an, but he has no reason to intervene. The general is still Wang Gen.

Although this possibility is not great, Wang Gen doesn't even dare to settle accounts with the Ding family, let alone the Xu family which directly controls the three states!
Everyone is not a fool and it is impossible for them to bet everything. Their eldest son must be waiting in the base camp. Once they are defeated, they can immediately raise troops to defend the king. This reason is very suitable. There will be no problem in forging an imperial edict at that time.

As long as they occupy the position of righteousness and serve the king, they will succeed. Unless one of the Confucian Academy or the Law Academy comes out to support them, they will soon be abandoned by their friends and relatives.

The Liu family's status is still very high, and no one can shake it at present. Two hundred years of accumulation cannot just disappear.

"This time, in addition to visiting my uncle, I also have one thing to do, which is to help my brother Xu Hua and help him secure his position as the head of the family."

Xu Min had the same concerns as Xu Hua. They all had the surname Xu, and the temptation of the position of head of the family was so terrifying that it was even enough to make brothers turn against each other!

After Xu Nan left, the two Xus were political enemies for a long time, and Emperor Kang intended to let the two sides check and balance each other.

When you become powerful enough, the only one who can defeat you is yourself. The split of the Xu family was also supported by Emperor Wu, otherwise he would not have helped you get promoted.

Emperors are born political creatures. No matter how loyal their opponents are, they like to create checks and balances. This was true for Liu Bang, Liu Heng, Liu Qi, and even more so for Liu Che.

The current Majesty Liu Xin does not do so, because he cannot do so. He cannot even fully grasp the power, let alone checks and balances.

Only when you become an emperor yourself can everything else become realistic.

"Supporting my uncle? My father will definitely not obey my uncle, just like the two ancestors Xu Ye and Xu Nan who turned against each other and caused the family to split."

Xu Shu also understood immediately that Xu Zhong was capable enough to be independent!

First of all, he was the General of Chariots and Cavalry, and the Governor of Jingzhou, holding great military and political power in the area. At the same time, his eldest son Xu Yuan was close to Xu Zhong, so Liangzhou was also within his reach. Not to mention the Governor of Yangzhou Zhu Chun, who was a typical Xu Zhong faction.

The only person who could completely obey Xu Hua was Bingzhou Mu Dong Chong, who was promoted by Xu Hua.

In addition, he was also supported by Youzhou Mu Xu Min!

"Nothing is impossible. No one thought that the first thing Emperor Xuan would do after ascending the throne would be to throw away his crutches. Xu Zhong has always been the second-in-command of the Xu family in Henan, so it is inevitable that he will have ambitions."

"Originally it had nothing to do with us, but now is an extraordinary period and we cannot afford internal strife. Our ancestors were at the peak of the Xu family's prosperity. Our ancestor Xu Gong, the "Saint Master", is still alive and is extremely favored by the emperor."

"So the split is actually a good thing, but now is a different time, we can't go through another internal conflict."

Xu Min was still afraid. Who could truly accept that? We are all chosen by heaven. You are the prime minister, and I am the general of chariots and cavalry and governor of a state. The power in my hands is not much less than yours.

So Xu Min needs to express the attitude of Qinghe Xu Clan! That is to support Xu Hua and not do anything ungrateful.

Xu Hua had previously served as Taifu and Da Si Nong, and had taken good care of Jizhou. Without his green light and convenience in taxation, Qinghe's development would probably not have been so smooth.

Qinghe has a population of 400,000 households, and it is impossible for them to have a population exceeding one million by themselves. Even if there is plenty of grain, it will be gone once the imperial court launches a large-scale levy.

In order to make up for the deficit in the national treasury, the tax rates in different places are different, with rich areas collecting more and poor areas collecting less.

It also makes life difficult for ordinary poor people. If a county or a prefecture is rich, it is the local tyrants who are rich. It has nothing to do with ordinary people.

Qinghe had only basically achieved food and clothing, and was able to avoid starvation in years of disaster. Although Nanyang was richer, the lower-class people were still relatively poor.

In this era, wealth was destined to be concentrated in the hands of the powerful, but they were also the main target of taxation by the imperial court.

The practice of later generations where the common people's taxes were split 50-50 and the powerful had to pay back all their taxes had not yet appeared. The imperial court treated everyone equally and the rich had to pay more taxes. Emperor Wu of Han was especially good at fleecing the rich. Where did he get the money to fight against Baekje and Nanyue in the later period?
It goes without saying that if you don't donate money, they will find a reason to confiscate your property. That is the darkest moment for the powerful. Although the common people are not much better off, the powerful at least will not starve to death.

"Well... Father, I will give orders right away to have the soldiers from all over Youzhou gather together first, and use the excuse... that the Wuhuan people will launch a surprise attack. If necessary, we can shorten the time."

Xu Shu left quickly.

(End of this chapter)