Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 128 I am the number one loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty!

Li Ming glanced at the fifteen defeated soldiers.

Several people were frightened from the bottom of their hearts.

They were afraid that the child would suddenly open his bloody mouth and swallow them alive.

"The old way, peel off this skin and hand the person over to Fang Yize to deal with." Li Ming waved his hand.

what?
Good news, it’s not sashimi.

Bad news, eat cooked food.

Several captives misunderstood Li Ming's terminology and became limp all over, looking as if they had lost their father's wife. They were stripped of their armor and escorted out obediently by the militiamen under the command of Yuchi Xunyu.

Aunt Wu just happened to come in and saw a row of soldiers surrendering their weapons in the yard. She couldn't help feeling dazed.

Once upon a time, the government troops in helmets and armor were like gods descending from heaven, and one man dared to charge into a group of bandits!
The bandits' homemade spears and javelins hit the armor like eggs hitting stones, completely useless!

Nowadays, he could easily grab more than a dozen soldiers!
I did the right thing by giving up my throne and handing over the Red Turban Army to this kid...

"Auntie, Auntie, have you found any information?"

Li Ming blinked his big eyes with curiosity.

In line with the Red Turban Army's spirit of not keeping idle people, he sent the daughter of the original shareholder to the intelligence department and concentrated on sneaking into the county town to gather intelligence and spread news.

Not to mention, in a battlefield dominated by men, it is not easy for a woman to be discovered when doing reconnaissance work behind enemy lines.

In addition, Li Ming's benevolent rule attracted a lot of fans, and many grassroots people were willing to provide information, while Murong Yan, the local emperor, had no counter-espionage awareness.

This resulted in every move being one-way transparent to the rebels.

"Their strategy has changed." Aunt Wu took out a simple village map from the package:

"Murong Yan cannot defeat us all at once, so he plans to target each village and concentrate his forces to attack."

From an all-out offensive to a focused offensive, how come reactionaries in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, are all equally lacking in imagination...

Li Ming complained in his heart and took a look at the map.

A considerable number of the villages that will be the focus of the attack are not actually the strongholds of the Red Turban Army, but are maintaining a fence-sitting attitude.

When the Red Scarf Army came to rest, they received them. When Murong Yan's troops came, they also welcomed them with a smile, aiming to not offend either side.

This time, Murong Yan was determined to push all the people's support towards Li Ming.

So, the best seed drillers are always the reactionaries...

Li Ming followed the practice of his predecessors and quickly made arrangements:
"Population is an important resource. Move all the people from these villages out, fill the villages with firewood and tung oil, and give the invading enemy an opportunity to burn Bowangpo."

You also listen to the Three Kingdoms storytelling, which is quite tasteful... Aunt Wu, a storytelling enthusiast, nodded and looked at the group of prisoners going away, seeming to be worried.

"Auntie, what's wrong with you?" Li Ming asked in a baby voice.

For some reason, Auntie Wu always felt that Li Ming had bad intentions when he called the young woman "Auntie", but she had no evidence because Tang Chao did call her that.

"I'm very happy that you have expanded the power of the Red Scarf Army to such a great extent." Aunt Wu said gloomily:

"But I don't like your kindness to the executioners whose hands are stained with the blood of our fathers and brothers."

This girl wants to start a massacre... Li Ming laughed:
"If you want an enemy that is vulnerable to collapse to become a determined army, you can kill the surrendered ones.

"How is it that you kill people indiscriminately and you are no different from the stupid and evil Murong Yan whom you hate?"

Aunt Wu was speechless.

Li Ming waved to Aunt Wu.

She was filled with question marks and leaned forward.

Li Ming stood on tiptoe and patted her shoulder:

“They are all here to make a living, why should we make things difficult for them?

"We have many friends, but we only have one enemy."

Aunt Wu didn't quite understand what she said:
"You mean... Murong Yan?"

Li Ming nodded: "Almost."

As well as other aristocratic families who, like the Murong family, relied on the protection of their ancestors to monopolize all channels for social advancement, concealed their population and did not pay taxes, and annexed land and exploited the people.

Aunt Wu looked deeply at this precocious child and asked her own question for the umpteenth time:
"Where on earth are you from?"

Along the way, she naturally did not believe in the rumors about "Buddha" or "evil star" and the like. This child was still using mortal means.

However, these novel mortal methods, in the barren land of Pingzhou, produced an effect no less than that of gods and Buddhas—

Having been around Yanshan all her life, this was the first time she saw Pingzhou farmers who were so full of vitality and enthusiasm.

And all this happened in just one month!
It was as if this child had equally endowed every civilian under his rule with divine power, turning everyone into gods and Buddhas.

"I have answered this question many times." Li Ming was helpless:
"I am the fourteenth prince Li Ming, the governor of Liaodong. The other three children are the grandson of the Grand Marshal, the son of the Minister of the Left, and the grandson of the Duke of E."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes." Aunt Wu felt that the answer from gods and Buddhas was more reliable.

The royal family is the best of the best. Who would have nothing better to do than to come to the countryside to become a bandit and rebel against their own family?

"What I said is true. I am really Li Ming."

"Bullshit, you said that Li Ming could fight 10,000 Turkic soldiers alone. If you were really Li Ming, why didn't you fart and kill Murong Yan's 1,000 armored soldiers?"

"Ah this..."

Just when the two were stuck in Rashomon, the eldest grandson of the Grand Marshal, Sun Yan, came out from the study.

"Brother Ming, I just reported half of it."

His steps were light and his coarse white robe fluttered in the wind, and he even had some of the air of an immortal.

If he didn't have two dark circles under his eyes, his hairline was even further back than when he first taught Lai Junchen, and he didn't exude a sense of resentment.

Li Ming waved to Aunt Wu:
"You and Yuchi Xunyu will handle the military affairs. I have a lot to do, and I want to focus on domestic affairs."

How could a bandit leader not care about fighting? Ning Zhen thinks of himself as a governor... Aunt Wu left muttering.

"Alas..." Chang Sunyan sighed and said tiredly:

"We now have 12,300 households and 108,000 people under our jurisdiction."

Li Ming was surprised:
"That much?"

In modern times, governing 100,000 people is considered a township or county level position. An ordinary civil servant like Li Ming can reach this level before retirement if he works hard.

In Pingzhou during the Tang Dynasty, this was almost five times the registered population.

This is only the population in the area he actually controls.

"There are too many people who are not reported in Pingzhou. Many villages have not been visited by bureaucrats for decades. Sigh..."

Chang Sunyan sighed again.

"So we have to keep them under control." Li Ming put his hands behind his back and dictated the next arrangements:

"This wave of Murong Yan's concentrated attack will definitely cause chaos in Pingzhou, and send a large number of refugees to our side.

"It's mid-November now, and the weather is getting colder. In addition to preparing food in advance, winter clothing must also be woven as soon as possible. Mass work must be implemented in detail..."

Chang Sunyan sighed unconsciously while taking notes carefully.

As the Chief Permanent Secretary, he has been sighing more and more recently.

Li Ming frowned: "You don't agree?"

"No, no, Brother Ming has a good idea." Chang Sunyan shook his head like a rattle, and then pressed his swollen temples:

"It's just that I've been too busy lately and I've been lacking capable helpers." Although Li Ming is not a hands-off boss, he personally checks the details of the implementation of many government orders.

However, the complicated grassroots governance still caused Changsun Yanmeng to lose his hair.

Fights over water sources, fields, fruit trees, marital discord, cousins ​​losing their entire family... all the trivial matters of the villagers would be brought to this noble young man.

“The clerks we selected from the villages are hardworking and willing to go deep into the mountains.

“But their abilities are really lacking.”

Chang Sunyan couldn't help but complain:
"They are not very smart, and they have a harder time learning math than Yuchi Xunyu, and most of them cannot read.

"Although I study very hard, I am really stupid and learn too slowly."

On the one hand, he assisted Li Ming and was in charge of the village production brigades that were scattered in various corners of the southern foothills of Yanshan Mountain, and on the other hand, he had to act as a teacher and teach his subordinates to read and write.

Complaints are inevitable.

Li Ming patted his friend on the shoulder and decisively started making chicken soup:

"Look at it in a positive way. This is a great exercise for your abilities. This is how I trained Wei Daijia. If you can manage the grassroots well and mediate the various conflicts in the village, you will definitely achieve great things in the future."

"When your grandfather followed my grandfather, he worked as a secretary like this."

"Really?"

"Really? Could your brother Ming still lie to you?"

Zhang Sunyan sighed, and the chicken soup was finished:
"I don't mind, but these clerks who come from peasant families are really useless. They won't be able to be of great use in the future..."

What are you expecting when you draw an SSR in the general pool? It’s good enough to have a common face to use... Li Ming patiently enlightened his friends:

“It is impossible and unnecessary for all of our subordinates to be intelligent and capable. Governance at the grassroots level cannot do without mediocre people.

"The clerks can faithfully carry out the orders from above and report the situation below, which is better than all other prefectures and counties."

That's true.

In daily life in ancient times, ordinary people did not actually deal directly with officials.

The people I come into contact with the most are the low-level clerks.

The court’s loss of control over the grassroots began when it could no longer control the clerks below it.

So at this level, loyalty and responsibility are above all other qualities.

And what kind of person could be more loyal and reliable than the old farmer whose life was saved by Li Ming and who worships him almost like a living Buddha?

"But..." Li Ming pondered.

Chang Sunyan's concerns are not without reason.

Now this group of people may be able to barely manage a five-li township.

But it will not be possible if the territory is expanded to the entire Pingzhou and Yingzhou in the future.

We must indeed change the current chaotic governance model and build a more efficient, reasonable and scientific framework first.

"I have a new idea." Li Ming pondered.

Chang Sunyan immediately looked miserable.

Whenever Wang Mingge from Liaodong has a "new idea", it means that he, as the chief secretary, will be busy.

“Why don’t we reorganize the Red Scarf Army in accordance with the different directions of grassroots governance?”

Li Ming squatted on the ground, picked up a dry branch, and quickly drew a large frame on the sand.

"At the top is the Political Committee. The Secretariat assists in handling daily government affairs, and you are the head of the Secretariat."

Chang Sunyan instinctively took out a pen and paper and took notes with a bitter face.

"Under the Political Committee..." Li Ming extended several lines under the big frame.

"According to the division of responsibilities, there is a Ministry of Finance that manages fiscal revenue and expenditure... a Finance Committee, and an Armed Forces Committee that manages military forces, which are respectively headed by Fang Yize and Yuchi Xunyu.

"And the Agriculture and Water Conservancy Committee, the Handicraft and Technology Development Committee, the Construction and Transportation Committee..."

He borrowed some modern ideas and built the basic political framework for the future "Jiedu" of Liaodong.

Chang Sunyan looked at this new system and was speechless for a long time.

"How about it, are you shocked?" Li Ming was a little proud.

The eldest grandson hesitated for a moment and said:
"This distribution of governance functions can indeed improve efficiency and save energy. However..."

"Just what?"

"It's just... Brother Ming, why do I feel like what we're doing isn't right?"

"You might as well put it more clearly."

Chang Sunyan looked into Li Ming's eyes solemnly:
"Brother Ming, are we...rebelling?"

The system that Li Ming promoted in the Red Turban Army had nothing to do with the Three Provinces and Six Departments system of the Tang Dynasty, let alone its inheritance or development.

Abolishing the equal-field system, the rent-and-labor system, and the military service system was already a dig at the roots of the Tang Dynasty.

Now even the three provinces and six ministries have been thrown into the trash.

It can be said that apart from using the name of the Tang Dynasty, this group of people in Pingzhou have become a country of their own in other aspects. Compared with them, Wagangzhai is several Dou Jiande worse.

Goguryeo is more like the Tang Dynasty than Pingzhou is today!
After all, they are still using the system of three provinces and six ministries!
"Oh, how is that possible?" Li Ming immediately denied:
"How could I possibly rebel against my grandfather? I have always been loyal to the Tang Dynasty!"

"really?"

"I think I am."

Although Li Ming was a separatist in the mountains and although he set up a new central government, he felt that he was a loyal minister.

The Tang Dynasty was destroyed by the military governors, so he, a member of the royal family, became the military governor, blocking the way for future generations.

The Tang Dynasty was destroyed by the annexation of land by landlords and powerful people, so he simply slaughtered the powerful people and nationalized the land.

The Tang Dynasty fell due to the collapse of the household registration system and the depletion of tax sources, so he simply abolished the head tax and distributed the tax based on the land area in disguise.

The Tang Dynasty fell due to the rebellion in Hebei, so he directly occupied Liaodong, which was more Hebei than Hebei, and together with the Central Plains, it was sandwiched with cheese on both sides.

I am clearly taking precautions to prevent the risk of the future destruction of the Tang Dynasty. How can it be said that I am rebelling?
I am the number one loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty!
…………

In December, Lulong County, Pingzhou Prefecture.

As the situation of suppressing bandits becomes more and more severe, a strange atmosphere permeates the mansion.

Because the theoretical commander-in-chief, Hou Junji, the Minister of Personnel and Acting Governor of Pingzhou, was in a mess.

It’s not because he was infected by the official habits of Pingzhou.

Instead, he felt that this "naughty bandit" inexplicably exuded the aura of a certain "naughty boy".

“These are the leaflets they distributed today.”

Wei Daijia swaggered into the governor's study and sat down, then stuffed a piece of paper of familiar specifications onto Hou Junji's desk.

A very eye-catching title:
"Did you know? Murong Yan's most beautiful concubine, the rules of the bridal chamber are... "

The little smell came up immediately.

At the same time, a strange legend began to spread in the county town, saying that a new leader of the Red Scarf Bandits was the incarnation of a furious Vajra, who was kind to good people and skinned and pulled out the tendons of evil people.

Weird flyers, weird rumors, and weird bandits who turned around overnight and swept through in an instant.

The two felt like they were back in Chang'an.

(End of this chapter)