Song Qian brought many tents and gave them to the people of Nihe County who had yet to build a house for the time being. He even personally led many people to deliver soybean oil and rice noodles from door to door. This family gave twenty kilograms, and that family gave a jar. He kept saying that the Tang Empire and Xinluo were like family.
He also emphasized the fact that all of the demolition money had been handed over to County Magistrate Mu. He hoped that the people who did not receive the full amount would give County Magistrate Mu some time. County Magistrate Mu must be in a difficult position. He believed that as the official of the county, County Magistrate Mu would handle the corresponding matters as soon as possible.
Song Qian went around and spent a few days returning to the restaurant Between the Clouds and the Water to rest.
County Magistrate Mu received many tents, but he was even more worried. The matter of the money had been exposed. It was better not to have tents now because there were not enough. It was only one-tenth of the amount of tents that people who did not have a house had. Song Qian gave it to him for free. He could not complain that he gave too little. If he left it in the yamen, it would be difficult to give it to anyone.
The new year was approaching. On the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, the conflict between the county magistrate and the people did not stop. The people came to ask questions, the yamen runners fought, and the people persuaded each other in the neighborhood to send the yamen runners to investigate. This was the cycle.
County Magistrate Mu handed over a lot of the embezzled money, and the higher-ups did not pursue the matter. However, if they wanted to give the people the original amount, it was definitely not enough.
When a heavy snow fell, County Magistrate Mu fell ill. The cold-hearted people took advantage of the ice to drag their families across the mud river to the Tang Empire. They were willing to do any kind of hard work. If they could stay, they would never go back.
*****
On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the new year was over. The capital was no exception. In the palace, Gao Lishi was not idle for a moment. He commanded a group of people to start sweeping the dust and carrying out the folk worship.
Telegrams were frequently sent from all over the country. Those who had relatives outside and knew the exact location were willing to spend some money to report that they were safe.
Perhaps it was because of the telegrams that it was convenient to transmit news, the local officials began to publicize the merits of the current Emperor in the provincial capitals a long time ago.
The lives of the common people were indeed much better than before, especially the newborns. The number of deaths was ten times less than before. There was no longer a situation where six or seven children were born, and the last one died.
Hearing the summons from the prefectural government, the influential clans and local gentry took the lead and stamped their fingerprints on the Ten Thousand Citizen Forms and sent them to the capital. Looking at the distance and estimated the approximate time, those who arrived early or those who arrived early would wait and meet on the day of the new year to send them to Li Longji.
According to what Wang Juan had told Zhang Xiaobao, Li Longji was someone who rejoiced in grandiose deeds, but he hadn't appeared yet.
When Li Longji saw the mountain of Ten Thousand Citizen Forms, he was only happy, but he did not dare to relax. After learning how vast the sea was, he understood the insignificance of a lake. When he heard Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan say that the place could send a cannonball from Lu Zhou to the capital, he did not think that he had the ability to protect himself now.
Moreover, Gao Lishi had deliberately placed the matter of the people of Sinro's Nihe County on his desk. Li Longji was prepared to continue working hard. When the Great Tang's technology reached a level where it could find another powerful country and send a cannonball from the capital to the other country, he would think about it again.
"Summon Li Longji for me." Li Longji emerged from the pile of Ten Thousand Citizen Forms. He suddenly had an idea in his mind, and he ordered someone to look for Gao Lishi.
A short while later, Gao Lishi, who was dressed in gray, hurried over. "Your Majesty, you've summoned me?"
"Yes, you..." Li Longji asked in surprise when he saw Gao Lishi's battered appearance.
"Your Majesty, it's difficult to clear the ashes from the stove in the imperial kitchen, so I helped carry two baskets of ash. Zhang Xiaobao said in his letter that there will be gas, liquefied gas, and other things to replace firewood and coal in the future, but I don't know when I can see it. Your Majesty, is there something urgent?"
Gao Lishi did not dare to brush off the dust in front of the Emperor, so he just stood a little further away from the Emperor and spoke.
Li Longji basically wanted to remind the Great Tang about the Ten Thousand Citizen Forms and the people of Sinro. However, when he heard Gao Lishi mention Zhang Xiaobao, he forgot about it for a moment. He glared and said angrily, "I want to punish Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. The two of them did not do their duty as the Solution Emissary and ignored tens of millions of people, but ran to the Turks. Where do they put the imperial court's law?"
"Yes, Your Majesty is right. The telegram said that the two of them are near Feng Province and will arrive in a few days. Should we summon the two of them back to the capital quickly and hold the Ministry of Justice, Censorate, and Marble accountable for the same case?"
Gao Lishi followed the Emperor's words and said, as if he would not give up until Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were arrested and brought to justice.
"Uh? This... this is not necessary, but it can't be avoided. I want to punish them with a year's salary. In addition, Zhang Xiaobai and the others, who did not cooperate with the Security Officer and secretly connived with Emissary Zhang and Emissary Wang, who were responsible for monitoring the situation, but did not report it and hid it from me in the capital. I hereby revoke their right to impeach from the Censorate and also punish them with a year's salary. "
Li Longji emphasized the words' pay penalty ', as if it was an extraordinary punishment to show off his authority.
The palace maids and eunuchs around lowered their heads and did not say anything. Most of them were looking at their shoes, which were issued by Zhang Xiaobai and Wang Juan. There were hollow places in the shoes, which were studied by a doctor who knew acupuncture. There were all kinds of small protrusions. They often ran around the palace, so it was easier than before. It was said that the cost of a pair of shoes was three thousand copper coins. They did not know how much the annual salary of Zhang Jiedu and the others were. Was it enough to change shoes for everyone in the palace?
Gao Lishi's face was full of bitterness. "Your Majesty, Xiao Bao and the others will be punished for ten years. Last time, because of the assassination, they were punished for three years. Adding the previous punishment, it's exactly ten years."
"They still have to be punished. If they are not punished, it will not be enough to correct the law. If they are not punished, it will not be enough to appease the resentment of the people. If they are not punished, they will not dare to play tricks with me next time." Li Longji did not show any mercy and made the decision.
Gao Lishi put on a good show to show that the Emperor's justice was not to be trifled with. Then, he bypassed the matter of deducting wages and bonuses and said, "Your Majesty, if County Magistrate Zhang Xiaobai of Jian'an County knows that you have revoked her right to impeach from the Censorate, she will make a scene."
"Make a scene? How can I compromise because of her dereliction of duty and revoking her position? Today, I am looking for you for another matter. Now, our country is at peace. Tens of thousands of countries have come to congratulate us. The people are happy and virtuous. However, in our great Tang, there will always be officials with selfish motives. We must guard against them. We must not be like the people of Nihe County in Xinluo.
Therefore, I want to establish a new position to supervise the officials of our Tang. If an official is found to be deceiving the people, I will strictly investigate and punish him severely. Even the relatives of the imperial family will not be spared. I will patrol the territory of the Tang and investigate the faults of all officials. The military and political affairs will not be stopped. Those who are investigated, if they are not detailed, can be convicted on the spot.
Li Longji then talked about the first thing he wanted to discuss with Gao Lishi.
Gao Lishi kept nodding his head. When the Emperor finished speaking, he asked worriedly, "Your Majesty, you want to set up a new department to patrol everywhere in the Tang Empire. Moreover, all the officials will be investigated and can be temporarily convicted. Then, who will be chosen?"
"Yes, that's what I was thinking. Naturally, there will be a lot of people. Just like the previous investigation of the bridge and paving of roads, there will be several rounds of inspection. If the people in front of you can't find anything wrong, and the people who came later find out, then the people in front of you will also be punished. I plan to send at least three rounds of inspection to each place.
At that time, if the people want to spend money to bribe them, it will be a big crime. However, I am worried that even if we investigate three or five times in a row, some places will still have enough money and methods to bribe all the people patrolling. Coupled with the relationship between the imperial family and other clans, many people will not dare to investigate further.
Therefore, I let Xiao Bei and the others be the head of this matter. I don't believe that there will be people who have enough money to bribe them, and I don't need to worry that they will be afraid of the imperial family and other clans. There are restaurants and shops all over the Tang Empire. I think that their intelligence work will be better than mine, the Emperor. With them in charge, I want to see who will dare to not do their best. "
Li Longji thought that he had solved a very difficult problem. He was so happy that he didn't call himself 'Your Majesty'. When he thought of the helplessness of the people being investigated and prepared to bribe Xiao Bei and the others, he felt that it was funny.
"Hahahaha, what do you think?" Li Longji finally couldn't hold back. After laughing for a while, he asked Gao Lishi.
Gao Lishi understood. No wonder Xiao Bei's position had been removed so quickly. It turned out that he had an even bigger position to give to Xiao Bei and the others. Of course, he also didn't believe that the Emperor really wanted Xiao Bei to manage this matter. In the end, it would fall into the hands of Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. It was just that it wasn't good to directly give Jie Du so much power, so he made an exception.
"Your Majesty's words are extremely correct. This subject can guarantee that Xiao Bei and the others will not be successfully bribed, and no one can afford to bribe them. However, this matter is of great importance and needs to be discussed in the Imperial Court after the new year. This subject is afraid that it will not pass."
"Whoever opposes this matter has a guilty conscience. We will investigate this matter first. Go, send a letter to Xiao Bao and the others. Tell them to pay attention to their safety. If someone has an unstable mind, then kill them."
Li Longji waved his hand, indicating that Gao Lishi should go and deliver the message. He himself continued to admire the Wan Min Biao.
*****
Before the news from the capital could reach them, Zhang Xiaobao had already arrived in Feng Province.
In the past, the inner city of Feng Province had a relatively tall earthen wall used to block Turkic attacks. Now, Feng Province didn't have any walls and was unimpeded.
The people of Feng Province felt more stable than before. With the Zhang Family and the Wang Family overseeing the city, they didn't have to worry about being suddenly attacked by enemies. This was especially true with the cannons that had just been shipped in this year. With them, they didn't even have nightmares at night.
The vast and mighty Turkic people had come to Feng Province. Seeing the current situation of Feng Province, it was impossible to say that they didn't have any other thoughts. However, no one dared to make a move. Just when they thought that they could live in Feng Province in the future, after only one night of rest, the group set out again the next day.
Mo Jilian also didn't expect this. He found Zhang Xiaobao and asked, "Zhang Xiaobao, where are you taking us? Aren't we staying in Feng Province? "
"Staying in Feng Province so that you can rebel at any time? Let's go. This year, I'll spend the New Year with you outside. I'll arrange a good place for all of you. For example, the leaders of your tribes will become officials in the capital. As for the rest of you, spread out and settle in the prosperous areas of the Great Tang. My Jili Province will also take a portion. "
Zhang Xiaobao didn't hide his wariness toward the Turks and spoke the truth.
Mo Jilian couldn't refute this. If it were him, he also wouldn't have left them in Feng Province. He worriedly asked, "Then can you guarantee that they will all have good lives?"
"I can guarantee that they will all be treated equally. As long as they work hard, they will be treated like the other people of the Great Tang. Early on, someone will tell them what to do and what not to do. Someone will also teach them how to farm. If they can't learn in the first two years and their families can't live well, they will be given subsidies."
"Then will they be treated like the people of the Great Tang?"
"There is no distinction between you and me. Those who enter my Great Tang are all subjects of the Great Tang."
"Can the children go to school and take the imperial examinations?"
"Yes."
"If there is a disaster, will there be a reduction in taxes?"
"Not only will there be a reduction, but if the disaster is serious, there will also be food and money."
"Some people are bullied when they go to other small countries to do business, but there are also people who will fight for them for thousands of li?"
"Let alone thousands of li, even thousands of li, there will be people responsible for taking back their dignity."
"Then what are you aiming for?"
"Aiming for the stability of the Turks in the future, to carry out strategic deployments so that we can continue to expand and plunder more good things from farther places. We will work for the peace of the world."
Mo Jilian had nothing to ask this time, but he still couldn't understand how attacking and plundering other people had anything to do with peace.
At this time, the Yellow River was sealed in ice, and there was no war, so it was naturally impossible to spend a large amount of money to buy cannonballs to blow up the river. Thus, Zhang Xiaobao divided the Turks into small groups. Some walked on the ice, some walked on the banks, and some were escorted toward the capital.
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