Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 82 "Pingrong Policy"

After the banquet at Xinfenglou, all the accusations that Sima Guang and his subordinates made against each other fell into Jiang Zhao's hands.

Even Confucius, a sage, committed the heinous act of executing Shaozheng Mao.

In the turbulent world of officialdom, who dares to claim complete innocence?

As the disciple of the head of all officials, the moment the charges fell into Jiang Zhao's hands, it meant that the political struggle was coming to an end.

The scattered charges were sent to the Ministry of Personnel, and the punishments that followed were naturally announced.

Sima Guang, the deputy envoy, was demoted to magistrate of Changhua County in Danzhou.

Liu Ping, the transport judge, was promoted to the rank of fifth-grade militia commander.

Chen Xin, the transport official, was demoted to the position of county magistrate.

The remaining officials, without exception, were either transferred to nominal positions or demoted.

The entire transportation company was completely replaced.

Less than two months after the new official took office, all the officials in the Transport Bureau were demoted or dismissed, causing quite a stir.

At some point, perhaps due to the excitement of his promotion, Liu Ping, the transport judge, got drunk and said some things he shouldn't have.

In particular, his remarks about Sima Guang's decision to sideline him and his plans to resist taxes attracted a lot of attention.

Upon hearing this, many people suddenly realized that the young Grand Secretary was a man of great taste.

After all, if Jiang Zhao were to actually provide evidence of tax resistance, Guang Prefecture, Ji Prefecture, and Tong Prefecture would likely all face military suppression.

The outcome of the political struggle was about to be revealed. Sima Guang had just come out to beg for mercy, and the young Grand Secretary was magnanimous enough not to hold it against him. That's what a person of principle he was.

At least, they didn't resort to wiping out entire families at the drop of a hat!

Anyone who knows the inside story would surely say that the young Grand Secretary is kind-hearted.
As word spread, the name of the "Young Grand Secretary" became increasingly well-known.

On the transport department's side, the thirteen Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) who were specially transferred were all promoted, skipping ranks and reaching the eighth-rank official position.

Of course, skipping grades should be done appropriately and not excessively.

Due to the issue of official rank, the position of Transport Judge, a sixth-rank official, was destined to be out of reach for the thirteen people.

Therefore, through Jiang Zhao's selection and recommendation, two candidates for judges were chosen.

One of them was named Shen Kuo, courtesy name Mengxi. He entered officialdom through his father's hereditary privilege and had been an official for quite some time. He was skilled in farmland irrigation and advocated reform.

One man named Xue Xiang entered officialdom through his father's hereditary privilege. He was skilled at allocating resources and accumulating wealth.

In addition to Shen Kuo, Xue Xiang, and thirteen other Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), Jiang Zhao also appropriately selected more than twenty people, bringing the total to more than thirty, and reorganized the official team of the Transport Commission.

With everyone united, Jiang Zhao completely took control of the Transport Department.

Time flies, and a year has passed.

Transport Office, Transport Commissioner's Office.

Jiang Zhao held a memorial in his hand and began to consider it.

The memorial was titled: "Pacifying the Barbarians."

This is the memorial he is about to submit to the emperor.

Things haven't been peaceful in Shaanxi lately.

Shaanxi is a border region, adjacent to the Western Xia and Tubo.

The Western Xia was in the north, and the Tubo (Tibetan) was in the south.

The Hehuang and Qingtang regions were under the rule of the Tubo Kingdom.

The Hexi region was the territory of the Western Xia regime.

The Western Xia and Tubo regimes bordered each other across the Hehuang region.

The relationship between the Zhou, Western Xia, and Tubo kingdoms was constantly changing.

Sometimes it was the Great Zhou and Western Xia allied against the Tubo, sometimes it was the Great Zhou and Tubo allied against the Western Xia, and sometimes it was the Western Xia and Tubo allied against the Great Zhou.

The situation changed very rapidly, and the Great Zhou Dynasty was the most powerful.

Originally, given the strength of the Great Zhou, it might not have been afraid of the alliance between the Western Xia and the Tibetan Empire, but the Great Zhou's geographical location was extremely special.

Of a nation's full strength, it often only dares to use five-tenths, with the remaining five-tenths used to defend against the Liao Kingdom to the north of the Great Zhou and the Dali Kingdom to the south.

Of the five major regimes—Great Zhou, Western Xia, Tubo, Liao, and Dali—only Great Zhou bordered all four, requiring special precautions to be taken against them.

Now, Jiang Zhao intends to submit a memorial to the throne because he has noticed the vulnerability of the Western Xia and Tubo countries and intends to seize their territory.

The Tibetan kingdom was ruled by a king named Gusiluo, who seized power through a coup.

This man had two wives, one surnamed Li and the other surnamed Qiao. His wife, Li, gave birth to his eldest son, Xiazhan, and his second son, Mojiaozhan, and she was ordained as a nun twenty years ago.

This naturally displeased Qusiluo's eldest and second sons, who were both men who had fought alongside their father to seize power and possessed considerable connections and prestige.

Thus, the eldest son, Xiazhan, and the second son, Mojiaozhan, both successively established independent regimes, forming a situation of "one father, three regimes."

The third son, Dongzhan, was Qiao's son. He was favored by his father from a young age and was also the actual successor to the Qusiluo regime.

In recent years, Gusiluo fell seriously ill. Unexpectedly, his eldest son, Xiazhan, and second son, Mojiaozhan, were in even worse health, and both passed away three years ago.

Thus, the son passed away, and the grandson took over the reins of power.

During the periods of blind felt and grinding felt, there were three regimes under one father, but they were still biological father and son, and blood was thicker than water, so there was not too much friction.

When the grandson takes power, the attitude changes completely.

The sons of Xiazhan and Mojiaozhan had never even met their grandfather, Gusiluo, and had almost no blood relation to him. They were ruthless when it came to killing each other.

The Tibetan regime was originally a system of three governments under one father, and when the grandson took power, the regime became even more fragmented.

Since Gusiluo fell seriously ill, Tibet has been in a state of great turmoil and chaos, with frequent internal strife and military conflicts.

On the Western Xia side, a young ruler ascended the throne.

Twelve years ago, Emperor Taizu of Western Xia, Li Yuanhao, passed away, and the two-year-old new emperor, Li Liangzuo, ascended the throne, with Empress Dowager Mozang ruling from behind the curtain.

To this day, Li Liangzuo is fourteen years old and has not officially taken power; the actual power lies with his uncle, Mezang Epang.

With the maternal clan in power and the young emperor vying for it, internal chaos was inevitable.

In order to seize power, the young emperor Li Liangzuo launched an invasion of Tibet two years ago, intending to use the pretext of war to gain control of the military.

The Tibetan Empire was embroiled in internal strife, vying for power, and also had to guard against the Western Xia.

On the Western Xia side, it was also a struggle between uncles and nephews.

In comparison, the Great Zhou Dynasty had already resolved the issue of establishing an heir, and its regime was undoubtedly more stable than one level.

Jiang Zhao, along with Wang Shao, Jiang Zhiqi, Shen Kuo, Xue Xiang, and others, discussed the power struggle between Western Xia and Tubo more than once. They all believed that this was a good opportunity to seize back territory and defeat Western Xia and Tubo.

Originally, without Jiang Zhao, all three regimes would have been in turmoil.

The Tibetan Empire split, the Western Xia regime emerged, and the Great Zhou dynasty seized power.

They're all equally rotten. The best that the Great Zhou can do is protect itself; there's simply no time to consider seizing the opportunity to fight for territory.

But, this time is different.

Because of Jiang Zhao, the Great Zhou regime was stabilized at least ten years ahead of schedule!

He was the head of all officials and also his teacher.

Such an opportunity, with almost perfect timing, is extremely rare.

Therefore, Jiang Zhao intended to submit a memorial to the throne and try to launch an attack.

After reading the memorial twice and finding no problems, Jiang Zhao wrote two more letters.

Jiang Zhao handed the memorial and the letter to his page, Hesheng, and instructed, "Send one letter to Zhonghuai in Bianjing and another to Hanshi in Bianjing. Give the memorial to Hanshi and have him present it to the Emperor on my behalf."

A few days ago, Gu Tingye specially sent a letter to announce the good news that he had passed the imperial examination and decided to continue his studies at the Sheng family private school.

Jiang Zhao was not surprised by this.

Gu Tingye was a man of both literary and martial talents; otherwise, he would not have participated in the imperial examination with Sheng Changbai.

All things considered, from the time Gu Tingye started his studies until he participated in the imperial examination, only eight or nine years had passed.

Nine years to quickly master the path of scientific research.

This talent is extraordinary.

Since they intend to attack the Western Xia and Tibet this time, there must be some fighting going on.

Gu Tingye is a man of courage and wisdom, so we must definitely gather him to help us.

On the one hand, Gu Tingye could help him take command of the army.

On the other hand, it's also about helping his brothers get promoted and make money.

"Yes."

With a memorial to the throne and two letters in his hands, Hesheng nodded hurriedly and strode out.

Jiang Zhao stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance.

(End of this chapter)