Chapter 265: Patrolling Hedong with Qianniu Guards, Liao Zhengrong's Questions

August seventeenth.

Li Xuan led his personal guards and a thousand Qianniu guards to Huoyi.

Among them, Assistant Censors Wang Yu and Li Xuan accompanied him, as well as several officials from the Censorate and a dozen clerks.

The purpose of this trip was very clear. In the name of an envoy, he was to monitor Hedong and impeach illegal activities.

At the same time, punish the powerful people who spread the rumors and find out the murderer who assassinated him.

Li Longji wanted to appoint Li Xuan as prime minister because of Li Xuan's "contributions to Hedong".

Li Xuan’s age will no longer be controversial after this trip to Hedong.

There were one thousand imperial guards, which was allowed by Li Longji.

He was worried that the powerful people in Hedong would become desperate and ambush and kill Li Xuan after learning of his arrival.

This kind of thing has happened before.

Li Xuan led his troops across the Yellow River from Pujin Bridge to Hedong, passing through Wenxi, Quwo, Linfen...

Li Xuan suddenly came from Chang'an and led the imperial army to the Yellow River. The officials in Hedong were in a panic and the powerful were trembling with fear.

They knew that Li Xuan came most likely because of the matter of Xuan Yu, the magistrate of Huoyi.

Those powerful people who sent people to recruit heroes from Yan and Zhao to assassinate Li Xuan at Huangshui were like ants on a hot pan, fearing that Li Xuan would find any clues and slaughter them.

Li Xuan did not conduct a thorough investigation of the counties before arriving at Huoyi. He only looked through the case records of the counties and inspected the prisons and warehouses.

It is not known whether it was because Wenxi, Linfen and other counties covered up the case well, or because the county magistrates governed well, but Li Xuan was unable to find any unjust cases for a while.

Li Xuan would stay in each county for a few days and then leave.

When in Linfen, Li Xuan asked Pingyang prefect Kong Xing about the affairs of Pingyang County.

After he inspected half of Linfen City, he stopped inspecting.

Since everything in Linfen City was in good order, the inspection would be useless.

In early September, Li Xuan arrived in Huoyi County.

This is his destination. Where he started is where he will end.

He wanted to start the remediation with Huoyi County as the core.

"Your humble servant greets King Tianshui!"

The newly appointed Huoyi magistrate Chen Xiong welcomed Li Xuan ten miles away from Huoyi County.

From the moment Li Xuan crossed the Puzhen ferry and set foot on the land of Hedong, his itinerary was no longer a secret.

Whenever the news arrived in a county, it would quickly spread to all the counties in Hedong.

When Li Xuan set out, the local officials knew exactly how many miles he traveled every day.

One reason was that Li Xuan’s trip was so grand that it could not be concealed.

The second reason is that the officials and powerful people in Hedong were afraid of Li Xuan like a tiger, and they needed to know Li Xuan's movements so that they could respond in time.

"Huoyi is not far from Taiyuan!"

Li Xuan said this calmly, and then asked Chen Xiong: "It's been so long, have you found out why the former Huo Yiling presented Xuanyu to the saint to frame me?"

"Replying to the King of Tianshui, since the former Huoyi Magistrate was ordered by the Saint to be tied up and taken to Longyou, I am unable to investigate."

Chen Xiong replied to Li Xuan.

He told the truth.

All the clues are with the former Ling Huo Yi. Without the former Ling Huo Yi, he can only guess.

"Too!"

Li Xuan nodded and asked Chen Xiong, "The former Huoyi Magistrate was coerced by the powerful people in Pingyang County to present Xuanyu to the sage and slander the loyal ministers. Huoyi Magistrate, how do you think this crime should be dealt with?"

Huoyi County belongs to Pingyang County.

Before the state was changed to a county, Pingyang County was also called Jinzhou.

"Replying to King Tianshui, this crime has four aspects: first, using prophecy, second, deceiving the emperor, third, framing the ministers, and fourth, bribing the court officials to disrupt the law. According to the law, he should be executed!"

Chen Xiong said to Li Xuan.

He was a county magistrate transferred from Chang'an. He passed the imperial examination and had worked in the Ministry of Personnel.

When something like this happens, unless you are stupid, you will not get involved with the powerful people in Pingyang County.

"Are the four great families of Song, Wang, Han, and Ding in Huoyi still there?"

Li Xuan asked Chen Xiong again.

According to the confession of the former Huoyi Magistrate, these four families were all powerful people and local tyrants under Huoyi Magistrate.

Many affairs in the county and villages were controlled by them, and some small tribes also depended on them and helped them to commit atrocities.

It was they who instructed the former magistrate of Huoyi to frame Li Xuan.

But Li Xuan was not satisfied with capturing the local tyrants in Huoyi County. He wanted to capture all the local tyrants who had tried to assassinate him.

Try to present more treasures to Li Longji.

It also reduced the suffering of the people in Hedong.

The famous Fen River flows through Pingyang County. The Fen Plain is very fertile and there is a lot of land suitable for farming.

"The four families of Song Wang, Han Ding, and others are all in Huoyi!"

Chen Xiong replied to Li Xuan.

“Are they hoping for the best?”

Are these big families still not leaving Huoyi because they are hoping that the former Huoyi magistrate did not confess?

Or do you think Li Xuan will not arrive in Huoyi because of this matter?

"The former Huoyi Magistrate has confessed to me that the Huoyi clan, headed by King Han Ding of Song, has abused their power to break the law and has no regard for discipline. They should all be arrested and taken back to Chang'an, and all their property should be confiscated!"

Li Xuan issued his first order before arriving in Huoyi City.

"Reporting to the King of Tianshui, Huoyi has an official position outside the capital, and the children of the four clans will serve as such..."

Chen Xiong told Li Xuan about this.

There were countless powerful people and wealthy families who served as officials in counties and prefectures, leading county troops and soldiers.

Officials outside the official ranks are also called "officials outside the official ranks", which refers to official positions below the ninth rank, commonly known as not being in the official ranks.

For example, the six departments in the county, including the Household Department and the Law Department, were all non-official departments.

This type of official does not enjoy court salary. Their salary is paid by the counties, and the prefects and county magistrates can appoint and dismiss them.

However, even officials outside the imperial court have to undergo assessment every year.

Sometimes, the big families would manipulate and assess the officials outside the family to be excellent.

Then he was promoted to formal court officials such as "county lieutenant", "county magistrate", and "county military officer".

This is a way for ordinary literati to advance in their careers. Although it is not respected by scholars, it is often run by powerful families.

"Dismiss them all and arrest them."

Li Xuan replied to Chen Xiong.

"As ordered!"

Chen Xiong accepted the order.

Li Xuan is no ordinary interviewer.

He was the governor of the four towns and the king of Tianshui. He could dispatch the Tianbing Army in Taiyuan City to the south at any time.

In this area, Li Xuan has the final say, and Chen Xiong can only obey.

He felt that Li Xuan's arrival would bring bloodshed.

He doesn't have to be afraid of offending the powerful people in Pingyang. After Li Xuan leaves, whether the powerful people in Pingyang will still be there is another matter.

Chen Xiong's manpower alone would definitely not be enough. Li Xuan sent 300,000 Niu Guards to cooperate with Chen Xiong.

After returning to Huoyi City, the powerful people of Huoyi were still thinking about a glimmer of hope.

Unlike other things, they know that once they are exposed, they will be wanted even if they run to the ends of the earth.

They could only pray that the former Huo Yiling had not betrayed them.

But they think too highly of themselves.

Before Li Xuan entered the city, Chen Xiong led the county soldiers and, with the cooperation of the Qianniu Guards, attacked the four families of King Song, Han, and Ding.

Capture their clan leader and main sons.

Li Xuan also ordered Luo Xing to take 500 thousand Niuwei to the countryside to arrest other small tyrants.

In just three days, all the powerful people in Huoyi were arrested.

Even the few large families that were not captured offered livestock to Li Xuan's Qianniu Guards as rewards for the troops.

To prevent Li Xuan from suddenly arresting them.

Of course, Li Xuan would not openly target the big families. These big families did not break the law, they just used some means to annex land.

When the time is right, Li Xuan will use an open and aboveboard strategy to force the great families of the world.

All of Li Xuan's actions touched the nerves of all the powerful people in Hedong.

I thought that if I hid it well, filled the warehouse with grain and made the local people shut up, Li Xuan would return empty-handed.

But as soon as Li Xuan arrived in Huoyi, he immediately took action, letting some powerful people know that Li Xuan was still the butcher Li Xuan.

Those powerful people who committed heinous crimes communicated with each other and tried to find countermeasures.

Especially those powerful people who hired heroes from Yan and Zhao to assassinate Li Xuan were unable to sleep or eat.

They were afraid that Li Xuan would suddenly turn around and point his spearhead at them.

Just like this sudden attack on Huoyi.

In a desperate situation, the powerful people would inevitably do some irrational things. They sent their servants to kill them and hired heroes with a large sum of money to continue assassinating Li Xuan.

What is Tianshui King?

Either you die or I die.

Even a rabbit will bite when it is cornered. If a person is cornered, he will do anything.

The officials of Hedong counties and prefectures were in a state of panic.

It is usually difficult to verify evidence of the crimes of the powerful. When they kill a civilian, they can easily destroy the body and the case becomes unsolved.

However, Li Xuan's reputation was so great that it awe-inspiring.

The local officials could only stabilize the powerful families while reporting to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan was also asked to prioritize local stability to prevent powerful families from taking radical actions.

Li Xuan simply appeased the local officials in Hedong, saying that he would not kill people in large numbers but would only punish the wicked and eliminate evil.

He came with the imperial sword this time, so he could kill first and report later.

After interrogation, the powerful people in Huoyi confessed to instructing the former Huoyi magistrate to present Xuanyu.

The reason was that Li Xuan was the envoy to Hedong, and they were afraid that Li Xuan would kill them, so they struck first.

Among them, the Yanzhao heroes who assassinated Li Xuan were also responsible.

In addition, there are some powerful people involved in Pingyang County.

Moreover, it turned out that Pingyang County Prefect Kong Xing also had connections with powerful people and accepted bribes from powerful people such as King of Song Han Ding on many occasions.

Li Xuan ordered Xue Cuo to lead 500,000 Niuwei to Pingyang County and capture Pingyang Prefect Kong Xing.

At the same time, other powerful people in Pingyang County who assassinated Li Xuan, as well as the criminal powerful people exposed by the former Huoyi magistrate, were arrested.

During this period, they encountered resistance from powerful enemies and a fierce battle broke out.

Since the 1,000 Qianniu Guards were all wearing iron armor, even though their fighting spirit was not very strong, dealing with some powerful servants was like a piece of cake for them.

Throughout Pingyang County, dozens of powerful families were captured.

It also shocked Hedong!

Originally, Li Xuan was unable to capture too many powerful people, and it was even difficult to track down the murderer who assassinated him.

However, these powerful people thought too much and were afraid that Li Xuan would kill them without any investigation, so they came up with a risky plan to assassinate Li Xuan.

In fact, Li Xuan would not do that!

Whether it is Linhai County, Yuyao County, Wuwei County, Xiping County, or Dunhuang County.

Every time Li Xuan went on a killing spree, there was a cause and effect.

In Linhai County and Yuyao County, the powerful people colluded with local officials and condoned the pirate Wu Lingguang. They annexed land in a way that was condemned by the whole people. Their crimes are too numerous to list.

Even the nobles applauded Li Xuan's slaughter of the powerful.

The people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang therefore worshipped Li Xuan as a god.

Although Li Xuan has been away from Jiangsu and Zhejiang for more than three years, he still has a huge influence.

The powerful people in Wuwei County started by assassinating the imperial official Lu Sigong, and then colluded with officials to manipulate the market in Liangzhou City, making the entire business environment in Liangzhou City a mess.

The powerful people in Xiping County actually wanted to ambush and kill Li Xuan when he returned to Huangshui City.

Their downfall was not unjust at all!
Not to mention Dunhuang County, they colluded with officials, helped Sogdian merchants abduct and sell decent women from Tang Dynasty, and wanted to kill Li Xuan. Their crimes were no worse than the case of the pirate Wu Lingguang.

From this we can see that Li Xuan did not kill people indiscriminately. He only started to take action after finding evidence.

But the powerful people don't think so. They run rampant in the countryside, bully the common people, and they are guilty.

They thought Li Xuan was here to arrest them, so in desperation they sent their servants to assassinate Li Xuan.

These servants and assassins disguised themselves as various characters and approached Li Xuan.

But they either died at the hands of Li Xuan's personal guards or were captured alive by Li Xuan.

As long as the assassination attempt by the servant failed, he would fall into Li Xuan's hands.

Even if they are not afraid of death, they will reveal their identities under torture.

As a result, Li Xuan defeated more than a dozen powerful families.

Some powerful families who were patient and wise escaped from Li Xuan's hands.

To the big families and the noble families, it was just a false alarm.

Because many powerful families had studied Li Xuan and knew that Li Xuan would not go against the powerful without evidence.

Even if a powerful person has a very bad reputation in the village, the people will still look down on him on the street.

Li Xuan knew what kind of image he wanted to create.

Why did the wealthy families call Li Xuan a "butcher", while Du Fu, Wang Wei, Yan Zhenqing, and many scholars and officials were still willing to be close to Li Xuan?

Because they understood what Li Xuan was doing.

In early October, Li Xuan arrived in Shuofang County.

Although Shuofang County is named Shuofang, it is actually located in Hedong.

On the way to inspect Hedong, Li Xuan still found some clues.

In addition to confiscating the property of powerful people who had revealed their true colors, he also redressed a wrongful imprisonment and impeached a chief secretary for misconduct.

Yesterday, Li Xuan even impeached Zheng Yanzuo, the magistrate of Shuofang County, for being "unfilial" and asked the emperor to remove him from office.

Zheng Tingzuo's mother had passed away for many years, but Zheng Yanzuo kept his mother's body in a cave and did not bury her.

According to the system, when parents pass away, one must resign from work and observe mourning for three years.

In prosperous times, there are so many scholars who want to be officials, but the number of official positions is scarce, and there is only one position for each person. After going back to observe mourning for three years and reporting to the Ministry of Personnel, there is no guarantee that there will be a good official position.

So Zheng Yanzuo placed his dead mother in a cave and kept it from the court.

But such behavior is already known to everyone in Shuofang County.

So yesterday Li Xuan directly reprimanded Zheng Yanzuo and sent the impeachment memorial to Chang'an by express horse.

Being unfilial will not be a crime.

But Zheng Yanzuo will most likely be "banned from holding an official position for life."

This impeachment seems to be Li Xuan’s “perfect achievement”.

The Tang Dynasty ruled the country with filial piety, which proves that Li Xuan’s promotion of filial piety was a model for a prime minister!

Along the way, all the people praised Li Xuan.

"Li Shuai, I have some questions for you!"

In the county government office in Shuofang County, Liao Zhengrong made a request to Li Xuan.

Liao Zhengrong is a peerless swordsman whose swordsmanship has reached the pinnacle.

Anyone who has more strength than Liao Zhengrong will inevitably be the first to die in a fight.

Liao Zhengrong's sword was used for both slashing and stabbing, fast and fierce.

Even if you are wearing armor, you can still be stabbed in vital parts of the face.

He has always been taciturn and only does what Li Xuan asks him to do. It is very rare for him to come and ask Li Xuan about something today.

"What's the matter, Liao Shisan?"

Li Xuan addressed Liao Zhengrong according to his clan seniority.

"General Li was decisive and sharp when facing some powerful people. But we know that there are some big families with bad reputations in the counties where we have been. Why not deal with them?"

Liao Zhengrong asked Li Xuan.

He has been with Li Xuan for such a long time that he knows Li Xuan's definition of a powerful person.

In the places they passed through, there were some large families with fields stretching for miles and having very bad reputations, and they were obviously powerful and wealthy.

"No matter what we do, we must abide by cause and effect. If there is a cause, we can make it come to fruition. If we send troops to a large clan for no reason and torture them severely, they may confess regardless of whether they did it or not. This is torture. I said, even if they call me a cruel official, it should be Goshawk Zhidu. What's the difference between this and Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen back then?"

"Those who assassinated me had their reasons, so we tortured them; those tyrants who harmed me also had their reasons, so we tortured them... There is nothing wrong with this."

Li Xuan explained this to Liao Zhengrong with great patience.

He knew that Liao Zhengrong was a man who hated evil and was a true knight.

The great man is the country and the people.

This is what Li Xuan often told Liao Zhengrong.

This makes Liao Zhengrong abide by his rules, regardless of everything, even to the point of giving up his own life, to complete his pursuit of chivalry.

"It's my ignorance. I haven't thought about these things. I just think that some officials wear masks and some powerful people pretend to be sheep to deceive General Li, which makes me feel indignant."

"When Li Shuai was in Hedong, the people loved you so much. In Huoyi, a group of people knelt in front of the city gate to express their gratitude. People beside the Fen River brought you preserved fruits. The old man crossed mountains and rivers to bring you eggs. Knowing that you were coming, he came to bring you hot porridge before dawn."

"I am only afraid that after Li Shuai leaves Hedong, the officials will take off their masks and the tyrants will show their fangs again. The people will suffer again, and the land they have gained may be lost again. The tyrants we have eliminated have only made the remaining tyrants even more powerful."

"Of course, this is also the thought of a foolish man like me!"

Liao Zhengrong bowed to Li Xuan and told the story in a very emotional manner.

"Zhengrong! You can't think like that! The so-called world becoming pure is just wishful thinking. As long as people are greedy, they will be dominated by desires. No one can stop them. The evil in the world is endless. Even if all the powerful people in the world are killed, new powerful people will appear soon, and these new powerful people may be originally poor people; even if all the corrupt officials in the world are arrested, new corrupt officials will definitely appear, and the new corrupt officials may have been honest people with ideals in the past."

"Everything must be sustained, fought and planned continuously. It is not possible to eliminate it all at once. Even gods cannot do this."

"So there are some things that you must learn to be patient with. My trip to Hedong was originally to deal with the tyrants who tried to assassinate me, and it was enough to let some of the tyrants reveal their true colors."

"The next step is to use an open and aboveboard strategy to force them to make a choice."

Li Xuan spoke to Liao Zhengrong earnestly.

He had already figured out how to use Liao Zhengrong, and had also conveyed many "ideas" to Liao Zhengrong.

After becoming prime minister, he began to put Liao Zhengrong on the right track.

(End of this chapter)