Chapter 301: Eating in Three States
Yuan Shen and Pei Yan discussed:
"The imperial court has issued an order to the governors of You and Yan states, telling them not to stop the Rouran people from entering the two states."
Pei Yan sighed deeply.
Yuan Shen continued:
"How to resettle the refugees from the Six Garrisons? This is a more serious problem than the Rouran people."
Yuan Shen said worriedly:
"There are 200,000 soldiers from the six towns who surrendered to Baidao City alone. If you add their families, that's 500,000 people."
"In addition, there are still a large number of refugees from the six towns who cannot be resettled."
Pei Yan's face turned pale. There were so many people and so many mouths, all of which needed to be fed. If they were not properly resettled, the people from the six towns would rebel again.
Yuan Shen said:
"I plan to write a petition to the imperial court to establish counties in the six towns, resettle the surrendered households, distribute relief, and put an end to their rebellious intentions."
Pei Yan asked:
"What do the Kings of Anfeng and Guangling think?"
Prince of Anfeng Yuan Yanming and Prince of Guangling Yuan Gong also made contributions in the Battle of Baidao. Before the change of commander, they were generals leading the army independently, and the court must have consulted their opinions.
Yuan Shen sighed and said:
"King Anfeng believed that the imperial court did not have enough food to settle the rebels of the six garrisons, and King Guangling believed that the people of the six garrisons should be relocated to the prosperous prefectures and counties in Hedong."
Pei Yan looked towards the north. He thought of the ragged refugees he had seen along the way. Yuan Shen's resettlement measures were essentially no resettlement at all.
The imperial court couldn't even afford the military expenses promised to the Rouran people, so how could it expect the court to provide money and food to rebuild the counties on the ruins of the six towns? To provide disaster relief and resettle the refugees?
If the Northern Wei court could have done this, the Six Garrisons would not have rebelled that day.
Moreover, the grain in northern states such as Hengzhou and Bingzhou has been used as military rations and has been almost consumed. Even if the court wants to requisition grain, it will take until next year to transport it to the Six Garrisons.
Yuan Shen's real idea was to keep the people of the Six Garrisons outside the Great Wall to spend the winter. Those refugees from the Six Garrisons who could not wait for relief would naturally starve to death. When the population decreased, the Six Garrisons would no longer pose a threat.
Pei Yan felt uncomfortable. His morality could not accept Yuan Shen's calculations, but he could not come up with a better plan.
Yuan Shen sighed again:
"We still have to wait for the court to decide."
Yuan Shen was also helpless because Yuan Rong kept attacking him in the court. Yuan Shen had to report everything to the court and did not dare to act on his own. The same was true for the resettlement of refugees from the Six Garrisons.
However, given the state of the Northern Wei court, Yuan Shen was afraid that they would cause trouble for him.
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As with anything in the world, anything that can go wrong will eventually go wrong.
Yuan Shen's victory report reached Luoyang. The rebels of the Six Garrisons were defeated by the Rouran people in Wuyuan. Po Liu Han Baling was missing, and rebels from all over the country surrendered to the government troops!
Empress Dowager Hu received the good news, which was the greatest good news since she regained control of the government. Empress Dowager Hu, who was obsessed with her male favorites, rarely attended court and summoned all the ministers to announce the good news.
The officials in Luoyang were also very excited. Empress Dowager Hu announced on the spot that she would donate 100,000 Buddhist coins to Yongning Temple to thank the Buddha for his protection.
After the court meeting was over, Empress Dowager Hu convened a meeting of the ministers of the Menxia Province to discuss how to accommodate the surrendered soldiers from the Six Garrisons.
In the Menxia Province, Prince Gaoyang still took sick leave, but all the ministers knew that Prince Gaoyang Yuanyong had a grand banquet in the palace yesterday, and they were afraid that he was still drunk and that was why he did not come to discuss matters.
Empress Dowager Hu was very satisfied with Yuan Yong's attitude. When she heard that he was "sick", she ordered the Imperial Pharmacy to reward Yuan Yong with precious medicinal materials so that he could "recuperate well" in the mansion.
Empress Dowager Hu wore a newly woven brocade phoenix robe, which made her look extremely noble. She also applied thick powder on her face to cover up the crow's feet that appeared during her imprisonment.
Since returning to power, Empress Dowager Hu seemed to want to make up for the enjoyment Yuan Yi enjoyed during his imprisonment, and her food, clothing and daily expenses became increasingly extravagant.
The princes, nobles, and senior officials in Luoyang also followed suit. While troops were being deployed in Guanzhong and the northern border, Prince Yuanrong of Chengyang was still vigorously expanding his mansion. Finally, the size of his mansion surpassed that of Li Chong, and became the second largest mansion in Luoyang, second only to Prince Yuanyong of Gaoyang.
The eunuch beside Empress Dowager Hu read the memorial sent by Yuan Shen, and then read the memorials from Prince Anfeng and Prince Guangling. Empress Dowager Hu asked:
"What suggestions do you have?"
The ministers of the Menxia Province were like clay Buddha statues, with their eyes on their noses and their noses on their hearts, all of them silent.
Empress Dowager Hu cursed inwardly. After Yuan Yi's purge and another purge after she came to power, the Menxia Province was now almost entirely filled with yes-men and sycophants.
Empress Dowager Hu could only look at the group of ministers she had newly promoted.
Including the Palace Attendant and Minister of Seven Armies Yang Yu in front of him.
Yang Yu was born into the Hongnong Yang family and was famous for his integrity in his early years.
The reason he was promoted was not because of his great ability, but because he had offended Yuan Yi and was persecuted by Yuan Yi.
When Li Chong and Su Ze returned to Luoyang after conquering the Rouran, they used five horse-drawn carriages loaded with gifts to bribe Yuan Yi. Yang Yu used this incident to impeach Yuan Yi and Li Chong.
At that time, Yuan Yi had not yet launched a coup, so he was attacked by the followers of Prince Qinghe and was symbolically punished by Empress Dowager Hu.
From then on, Yuan Yi hated Yang Yu, and after the Xuanguang coup, he exiled Yang Yu from Luoyang.
When Empress Dowager Hu regained power, she immediately transferred Yang Yu back to Luoyang and promoted him to the position of Palace Attendant.
After Yang Yu returned to the court, he did not change his upright character. He wrote a letter to impeach Empress Dowager Hu's male favorites Zheng Yan and Xu He, which aroused Empress Dowager Hu's disgust. She ordered that Yang Yu was only allowed to attend the meetings of the Ministry of Personnel, but was forbidden to express his opinions at will. But now Empress Dowager Hu can only look to Yang Yu. Now the only ministers in the Ministry of Personnel who can make effective suggestions are ministers like Yang Yu.
Yang Yu received permission and bowed to Empress Dowager Hu:
"Your Majesty, I think we should follow the memorial of King Guangyang and set up a prefecture and county north of Hengzhou to settle the people of the six towns."
Yang Yu added:
"The people of the Six Garrisons rebelled and returned, but they have always been unruly. If they flow into the Great Wall, I am afraid they will cause endless disasters."
The pass refers to the various passes on the Great Wall. In fact, the Six Garrisons are the buffer zone between the Central Plains and the grassland, which is a buffer zone located north of the Great Wall.
Yang Yu added:
"We can ask Heng, You, and Yan states to repair their passes to prevent the Six Garrisons from rebelling again."
Hearing Yang Yu say this, Empress Dowager Hu also nodded and said:
"Your suggestion is mature and prudent. The Ministry of Personnel and the Secretariat should discuss it again and come up with a detailed resettlement plan."
The ministers of the Menxia Province took the order and left. Empress Dowager Hu returned to the palace and summoned her most beloved male favorite, Xu He.
After the sex, Empress Dowager Hu remembered that Xu He had been the prefect of Yanmen, and asked him about the situation in the north.
Xu He came from a poor family and originally rose to prominence through the selection of filial and incorrupt officials. He once served as the Secretary of the Central Secretariat of Emperor Xuanwu.
Later, he attached himself to Qinghe King Yuan Yi and wrote "Xianzhonglu" for Yuan Yi.
After the Xuanguang coup, Xu He was purged by Yuan Yi. He was able to survive only after his family wealth was exhausted and he was demoted to be the prefect of Yanmen.
After Empress Dowager Hu regained power, she recalled the subordinates of Prince Qinghe to Luoyang. She found Xu He handsome and summoned him to be her concubine.
Perhaps it was because he was persecuted by Yuan Yi, but after returning to Luoyang, Xu He changed his original upright character as a civil official and began to flatter and depend on Empress Dowager Hu.
He once served as the prefect of Yanmen, which belonged to Hengzhou. He had close relations with the royal family members and tribal leaders who stayed in Hengzhou.
Some time ago, he accepted bribes from the wealthy families in Hengzhou.
Hengzhou’s demands are also simple.
The last time Li Chong went to war against the Rouran, he raised military supplies in Hengzhou, and the powerful people in Hengzhou paid a heavy price.
After the Six Garrisons Rebellion, Li Chong and Yuan Shen successively served as the Grand Commander of the Northern Expedition and raised food and fodder in Hengzhou.
When the nobles of Hengzhou heard that Yuan Shen had written a letter requesting the establishment of a prefecture to the north of Hengzhou to settle the remnants of the Six Garrisons, they immediately sent people with a large sum of money to Luoyang to relocate the remnants of the Six Garrisons far away.
The people of Hengzhou have been dealing with the people of the Six Towns for such a long time that they know that whether it is the resettlement of the population of the Six Towns or if the Six Towns rebel again in the future, Hengzhou will not have a good life.
Xu He said to Empress Dowager Hu:
"I think the people left in the Six Garrisons are wild and difficult to tame. If they are left outside the Great Wall, they may rebel again in the future."
Xu He said insidiously:
"Prince Guangyang is well versed in military affairs, but does not understand civil affairs."
Sure enough, when Empress Dowager Hu heard this, her expression changed.
After Yuan Shen left Luoyang, Yuan Rong kept writing letters to impeach Yuan Shen.
Yuan Rong even submitted a secret memorial to Yuan Shen about Yuan Shen's resettlement plan, reporting that Yuan Shen was "harbouring evil intentions, bringing disaster to the six prefectures, and deliberately nurturing the enemy in order to be able to suppress the foreign vassal for a long time."
The fact that the prince led the troops touched the sore spot of Empress Dowager Hu. Although she did not dismiss Yuan Shen, she became more suspicious of Yuan Shen and sent a white egret envoy to the northern border to collect evidence of Yuan Shen's disloyalty.
According to Yuan Shen's plan, he would be the one to set up prefectures and counties in the Six Garrisons and resettle the refugees.
If Yuan Shen continues to lead the army outside for a long time, Empress Dowager Hu will soon lose sleep.
Xu He observed the expression on his face and knew that the matter had been accomplished. He immediately said:
"Your Majesty, Ji, Ding, and Ying are all wealthy states, and the local nobles are powerful. It would be better to distribute the remnants of the Six Garrisons to the three states, so that they can't cause trouble. It is also better than settling them outside the Great Wall."
Empress Dowager Hu thought about it. This plan had indeed been proposed by someone before. More importantly, the ministers and local officials from the three states of Ji, Ding and Ying had no objection.
Empress Dowager Hu asked again:
"To settle the remaining people in the six towns, we need capable people. Who do you think can do it?"
Xu He immediately thought of Yang Yu, who had impeached him, and said to Empress Dowager Hu:
"Palace Attendant Yang Yu is one of the few capable ministers in the outer court. Appointing him as the ambassador of comfort will surely help the Supreme Lord relieve his worries."
Empress Dowager Hu smiled and said:
"Yang Yu once wrote a letter to impeach you."
Xu He said with a sad face:
"I am here to share His Majesty's worries. Lord Yang impeached me because he didn't know who I am. How can I hold a grudge against him over a misunderstanding?"
Empress Dowager Hu said with satisfaction:
"If all the ministers in the court were as loyal as you, I wouldn't have to work so hard."
The next day, Yang Yu received an imperial decree, appointing him as the ambassador of consolation and dispersing the remaining people of the Six Garrisons to the three states of Ji, Ding and Ying for food.
(End of this chapter)