Chapter 309 Repatriation
On the ninth day of September in the fourth year of Yongjia in the Jin Dynasty (310), it was the Double Ninth Festival.
The imperial court has now become a vegetable market, and the noise is endless, giving the emperor a headache. Sometimes he was thinking, how could all the beloved ladies quarrel with so much energy? Could it be that they were too full?
But he was also a little happy.
The court in the fourth year of Yongjia was probably the most dynamic court in many years.
The only powerful minister is far away in Yanzhou, and his prestige has plummeted, and his influence is not as good as before.
Chen Hou Shaoxun is domineering and attracts attention, but his background is too low and his appeal is not enough, so there is no need to worry too much - if it were not for the prophecy, Sima Chi would not even bother to think about him. It was Sima Yue who pursued and beat him fiercely.
Today's Luoyang court is closer to normal court status than ever before.
Wang Yan is the most powerful, but he cannot cover the sky with one hand.
Everyone else has a party and each takes away some of the power.
The emperor was in the middle of the court to judge right and wrong, and his importance was greatly increased.
This is the real emperor.
When he left the Daxia Gate, Sima Chi sighed comfortably, which attracted Empress Liang's eyes to focus on her and inquire with concern.
Sima Chi ignored him and just said: "I have been dormant for several months, and I have to do something."
"Your Majesty." Liang Lanbi looked at the emperor worriedly, not knowing what to say.
She knows that her husband has been too frustrated these years and has rarely tasted the taste of power.
After Sima Yue left the vassal outside the town, he first waited carefully, and then used his methods step by step. After several months of hard work, we succeeded in getting some court officials to come closer.
Just last month, he began to win over the left-back and right-back Imperial Army generals in an attempt to directly control the Imperial Army.
If this can be achieved, then he will be the true emperor and will no longer be restricted by anyone.
Well, this is Liang Lanbi’s own idea.
However, his father (General Wei Liang Fen) doesn't seem to see it that way.
After the emperor was suspected of "pro-government", he spoke less and became more cautious. Apart from interacting with nobles and officials who were also from Kansai, he had almost no social activities. He lived in seclusion and did not cause any trouble. His intention to protect himself wisely was very obvious.
Are you so dismissive of the emperor? Liang Lanbi was a little sad. In that case, why did you marry me back then?
She remembered the game many years ago.
Yu Wenjun followed step by step, looking at her eldest sister with reverence.
They also met Chen Hou Shaoxun. Liang Lanbi thought about it seriously for a long time and could not recall what Shao Xun looked like at that time.
Yes, I ignored him so much that I didn't take him seriously at all. Liang Lanbi didn't even remember the polite words she said.
Yu Wenjun must still remember it.
She often mentioned this man, her eyes full of wonder and admiration.
It was a blessing for her to marry Shao Xun.
Thinking of this, Liang Lanbi sighed. Once upon a time, she felt that this marriage was not good, unfair to Yu Wenjun, and would delay her life. But now... who knows!
"The queen is worried about me?" Sima Chi turned to look at the silent Liang Lanbi, laughed loudly, and said: "There is no need for this, you guard the imperial guards of the imperial chariot."
< br>Liang Lanbi looked outside.
The right guard general Li Yun led 300 cavalry to clear the way first, and a large group of soldiers guarded the left and right, stretching for several miles.
There are still many ordinary people standing on the roadside - well, it seems that they are not residents, more like refugees.
The refugees carried the old and the young, and were dressed in rags. Maybe he didn't have enough to eat and was staggering when he walked.
There are some strong men in the team who seem to have a slightly better life, but they also have talents.
An officer walked over and drove them away, swearing and asking the refugees to kneel down in the distance.
Their actions were very rude. Some children were shaking from hunger and had no strength. They fell to the ground with a slight push and were stepped on by countless people.
His father was as powerful as a mad tiger, trying his best to squeeze into the crowd, holding the child's broken body, tears streaming down his face.
"Dog officer! The Sima family will not die well!" The man roared with grief and anger: "One day, the Jin Dynasty will be destroyed by others. All the men of the Sima family will die and all the female family members will be taken into the house by others and humiliated day and night. . I've been waiting for this day!"
Sima Chi listened attentively, his face was livid and his eyes were fierce.
Miao Yuan, the general in the palace, quietly left the chariot and dragged the man away with a dozen soldiers.
"General?" The soldiers looked at him, their hands already on the hilt of their swords.
“He is also a poor man.” Miao Yuan sighed and said, “Take a roll of mat and bury this kid. Let this person go as he pleases.”
The soldiers followed orders.
“Wait.” Miao Yuan stopped them.
He turned his head and looked at the refugees who were like zombies.
At this point, the refugees who are still alive are not simple.
Either there was a little food in storage before, but after the locust plague, they had almost eaten. Seeing that the autumn harvest was in vain, they couldn't hold on anymore, so they took the last remaining food and fled on the road.
Either they had come out to beg in groups, fought back against other refugees on the way, and relied on robbing food or even corpses to make a living, barely surviving until now.
In fact, not all of the refugee army is ordinary people anymore.
Do you think the common people cannot bear the two consecutive years of major disasters? Wrong. Some scholars, powerful men, and businessmen with poor family backgrounds could no longer hold on. They also joined the army of refugees and became members of the wandering begging and plundering community.
The world is becoming more and more difficult, and it is not just ordinary people who are suffering, everyone is involved and struggling to survive.
"There are hundreds of refugees in this group, right? Give each person two Hu cakes and tell them to go to Guangchengze or Liang County. They may be able to survive." Miao Yuan ordered.
"General, why bother? We can save this group, but we can't save others. Even in Guangchengze, food is tight. How many people can survive?"
"There were once I once said, forget it if you don't see it, but if you see it, just carry it out." After Miao Yuan gave the order, he returned to the chariot.
Just at this moment, he heard the emperor delivering a decree: "...I used to pity these people, thinking they were all innocent, but I didn't expect them to be such wolf-hearted people. Previously, Jing and Yu Zhou Shangshu asked the refugees to return home. Wang Yifu strongly opposed it, and Yu Zizheng and Liu Changsheng did not agree, so I hesitated. Huh, it seems that I am still too kind to them. The governors of various states, Send out troops quickly, send the refugees back to their hometowns, and keep them under strict supervision!"
"...Why are you afraid of trouble? I am the emperor, and I follow the law in my words. Everything has to be done. After you have drafted the edict, you will send it to Zhongshu Province and Shangshutai. I will rely on them for everything else and never say anything. If you still object to this matter, huh!"
" ...Just do it, don’t hesitate.”
Miao Yuan listened silently.
After a while, I saw that the people in Zhongshushe had drafted the edict and sealed it, and soon some officials took it away. Miao Yuan sighed.
He can understand the emperor. No one can bear to be insulted in person, let alone at this sensitive moment.
When you said this during the Taikang period, few people would believe it.
When you said this during the Yongjia period, it sounded like a curse.
This reaction of the emperor just proves that he is very scared.
Miao Yuan was a little worried.
In recent days, the emperor summoned him many times and rewarded him with a lot of property.
To be honest, he was a little tempted. But when he thought of the previous batch of forbidden army generals who had been purged and dismissed by the King of East China Sea after becoming marquises, his heart became cold again.
Is there a future for following the emperor? This is something that needs to be thought about carefully.
But he also had to admit that many people were indeed tempted, including Zuo Wei, Right Wei and Xiaoqijun.
Everyone has his own ambitions. If you have no choice, just let him go.
******
The edict issued by the emperor in anger quickly reached the Shangshutai.
There was no Shangshu order at this time. Zuo Pushe was the highest official in the Shangshu system. Liu Tun was ascending the throne. After seeing it, he frowned slightly.
So he asked: "Didn't the emperor go to Mangshan to climb high? Why is he concerned about the dispute between residents and refugees again?"
Ling Shi, who handed over the decree, replied softly: " Driving northward, he encountered a collision with the refugees after leaving Daxia Gate. Long Yan was furious and ordered the refugees to be sent back. The governors of the various states would handle the matter as soon as possible. "
Liu Tun pondered for a while.
Sima Que, the king of Xincai, Shan Jian, the governor of Jingzhou, and Wang Cheng, the governor, all went to court one after another to lament the harm caused by the refugees and requested an edict to send them to the countryside.
Liu Tun hesitated.
Yu Min did not agree very much, thinking that the refugees were unwilling to return to their hometowns and that it was unnecessary to spend a lot of money.
Wang Yan strongly opposed it, thinking that trouble would arise. I heard that he also wrote a letter scolding Wang Cheng, asking him to change his tune, oppose the deportation of the refugees, and allocate money and food for resettlement so as not to cause chaos to the refugees.
Liu Tun understood Wang Yan’s thoughts.
Yifu does not want to see chaos anywhere, because if there is chaos, money and food will be wasted and taxes will not be collected, which will make it very difficult for him.
Thinking of this, he smiled. Wang Yifu has been tortured by money and food matters until now, and he doesn't know how much his life will be shortened.
However, precisely because he can get money and food, his status in the court is very transcendent, and everyone must give him some face.
Everything has pros and cons.
"The Huns have retreated, so there is no need to stand up to the emperor for such a trivial matter." Liu Tun chuckled and said, "Leave it to Zhongshu and ask him to draft the edict."
The edict issued verbally by the emperor or drafted by his close ministers was not a formal decree. It had to be formally issued by the Zhongshu Province, and it could only come into effect after a complete process.
The above are normal situations, not necessarily abnormal situations.
For example, when the late emperor "expedited" to Yecheng and the army was defeated, he could only deliver the edict orally or have any of the ministers around him draft an edict and send it out - sometimes even the paper or silk on which the edict was written was not included. None.
In fact, this rule is not so strict at this time.
It was not until the Sui and Tang Dynasties that the procedures were truly strictly followed. Shangshu, Zhongshu, and subordinates each performed their duties and were responsible to the prime ministers of the political hall.
Zhongshu drafts the edict, and his subordinates review and approve it. The six ministries under the Shangshu Province implement it specifically, and the censor is responsible for supervision.
If the emperor's decree does not go through the process in the three provinces, it is a challenge to the authority of the prime minister, which is a serious violation. In theory, the prime minister can directly push back, and the system allows and supports him to do so - in short, The six ministries were responsible to the prime minister, not to the emperor in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Of course, in actual operation, the game between monarch power and prime minister power is very complicated. Sometimes the monarch power overwhelms the prime minister power, and sometimes the prime minister power overpowers the monarch power. It all depends on the specific situation at that time.
Shang Shu Zuopushe Liu Tun felt that there was no need to embarrass the emperor on such trivial matters, making him unhappy, and then sang the opposite tune on other "big things".
He believed that Zhongshu and his disciples had the same view.
It’s just repatriating the refugees, what a big deal!
Now he had more important things to worry about.
The imperial court had been quarreling for half a month, but they still could not convict Nan Zhonglang General Shao Xun. This made the emperor very unhappy and even frightened him.
Unconsciously, Shao Xun actually had so many "partisans" in the court.
Yu Min, the servant who participated in the secret affairs, spoke for him.
At the Chancellery, Liu Tun also spoke for Shao Xun.
The Taiwei Wang Yan had many old friends in the court, so he joined hands to make peace with Xini, trying to reduce big things to small things, but small things turned into small things.
Perhaps, even if the emperor tries hard to figure it out, how can a soldier from a lowly background be so capable? Even though he is the lord of the world, his sins cannot be cured.
Whose family does this court belong to?
"Alas." Liu Tun sighed heavily.
Of course the imperial court belongs to the Sima family, but we don’t want the imperial court to fall apart.
The Xiongnu are sharpening their swords and can go south at any time. When employing people, please don't mess around, okay?
Tolerance serves the country, this is what Shao Xun often said, and Liu Tun deeply believed it.
Who hasn’t had any problems yet?
Who hasn’t made a mistake yet?
In peacetime, Liu Dun felt that Shao Xun's move was tantamount to treason and should be punished.
But today is different from the past. Because of "a little thing", those who can fight are punished. Who will defend Luoyang?
Of course, Liu Tun also understands that people like Shao Xun are actually digging for the foundation of the imperial court and are ambitious - anyone with some knowledge can't see it?
Perhaps, sooner or later, Shao Xun will be able to completely get rid of the imperial court and become a separate state.
But so what? Who would die loyally to the Jin Dynasty?
When disaster strikes, everyone will fly away, and when the court cannot survive, everyone should rely on their own methods and think of their own ways.
On September 12th, in just three days, the emperor's edict was sent to all states, with extremely high efficiency.
The "Three Giants" of Jingzhou - the governor Wang Cheng, the governors of Jing, Ning and Yizhou military Shan Jian, General Fenwei, and the military supervisor Du Rui of Mianbei - after receiving the imperial edict, They met together and decided to recruit soldiers and horses, allocate money and food, and send the Guanzhong refugees living in the territory back to Yong, Qin and other places.
The undercurrent hidden under the water immediately began to surge.
(End of this chapter)