Tibet

In the other courtyard of Danfeng Restaurant, Wei Jiansu specially invited Bai Xiaode to lunch.

Seeing Bai Xiaode's listlessness, Wei Jiansu smiled slightly and said: "Every family has its own scriptures that are difficult to recite, but as a person, you should be happy, think about good things, and only when you are in a good mood can you live longer!"

Bai Xiaode smiled bitterly and said, "I take the liberty of asking, in my humble position, what worries the Prime Minister?"

"Of course there is. In the past two days, His Majesty became ruthless because of the officials' disobedience. He asked the officials to abolish all slaves by the end of the year. If they are found to still keep slaves next year, they will not only be dismissed from their posts but will never be hired, and the entire family will also be affected. Imperial examination, so I summoned the Webster family in the past two days and asked them to free all the slaves. Next month I want to inspect each family, but even so, the clan members still don't listen and don't take it seriously. Do you think I'm annoyed? bother?"

"The Holy One seems to have been emphasizing the abolition of slavery."

Wei Jiansu nodded, "You are a general in the army. For example, after you became the commander-in-chief, you issued the first military order that the soldiers were not allowed to leave the camp at night. However, after the military order was issued, everyone did not take it seriously. Some people continued to leave the camp at night. How do you feel as a coach?"

"If this is the case, in a humble position, one must be killed to serve as a warning to hundreds, and one must kill to establish authority. If one person does not obey, he will kill ten people, and if ten people do not obey, he will kill a hundred people. Otherwise, how can the army be run if orders are not obeyed?"

"That's the truth. You should understand the emperor's mood. If you don't obey the emperor's orders, how can you govern the country?"

Bai Xiaode nodded quickly, "There seem to be a few Kunlun slaves and slaves in the humble Chang'an Mansion. I will turn them all into civilians when I return."

Wei Jiansu poured him another glass of wine and asked, "How have you been thinking about the matter of Minister of War in the past two days?"

Bai Xiaode pondered for a while and said: "To be honest with the Prime Minister, I don't care about my own honor or loss at all. I am worried about the tragic war and bloodshed in Anxi. I really hope that it can be resolved peacefully."

Wei Jiansu asked: "Anxi also has slaves, right?"

"Yes! There are many. Every king has a large number of slaves. If the abolition of slavery is implemented in Anxi, it will probably arouse strong resistance. If the court is determined to implement the county system and implement the abolition of slavery, I suggest not to be too eager and don't think about it. It can be completed in one or two years.”

Wei Jiansu smiled slightly and said: "Do you know what the emperor thinks? The emperor asked me to treat you to a drink. In fact, he wanted to feel your true attitude. Are you reluctant to be an official in Anxi? Or can't you bear the large-scale bloodshed in Anxi?"

Bai Xiaode suddenly became excited, "Of course I don't want to see large-scale killing and bloodshed in Anxi. If there is no killing and bloodshed, I would rather be a civilian!"

"Then you accept the arrangement of the imperial court and serve as Minister of War, and then I will tell you how the emperor will implement the system of prefectures and counties, so that you can feel completely at ease!"

Bai Xiaode nodded and agreed, "I will resign as the military envoy of the four towns of Anxi and the governor of Anxi tomorrow."

"That's right. You must take the initiative to express your attitude and obey all the emperor's arrangements. Never use the Anxi county system to bargain with the emperor. This will make the emperor very unhappy. He knows what the emperor should do, but he must not It’s not because of your pressure, do you understand?”

"I know my fault for my humble position!"

"Okay! I'll take it as you go to the Privy Council to submit your resignation tomorrow morning!"

"I must go to my humble position!"

Wei Jiansu then said slowly: "The implementation of the prefecture and county system in Anxi is called the elimination of vassal states in the history of our Han people. There is an obvious plan in the method of eliminating vassals, which is called the order of grace. The emperor will soon issue an order to allow Anxi to Each country will distribute land and property to all its sons, and the court will continue to ennoble them as county kings, grant them titles, and give them gold seals. Even if they refuse to separate their families, the court will force them to separate their families, otherwise they will be replaced by a new king. "

Bai Xiaode said after a while: "In this case, hundreds of small countries will suddenly appear in Anxi. This is probably what they have been waiting for for a long time. The key is that the court must recognize it!"

"Of course the imperial court will admit it. In ten years' time, the imperial court will implement the system of prefectures and counties in Anxi and then redeem slaves from these little kings. Does the general think there will be any resistance?"

Bai Xiaode shook his head slowly, "At that time, all the countries in Anxi will become a mess, and there will be no more resistance."

Wei Jiansu said calmly: "This is the most brilliant thing about the favor order. One king wants power, but ten kings want wealth. The emperor believes that killing and bleeding in Anxi is not a good strategy, as it will lay hidden dangers for future generations. So he decided to use gentle means to solve the problem of the county system in Anxi, and pushing the En Order is the best soft means. "

Bai Xiaode suddenly understood that the emperor's decision to return him to Chang'an had nothing to do with the implementation of the county system in Anxi. The vassal the emperor wanted to reduce now was not the other countries in Anxi, but himself.

Bai Xiaode sighed, "I will resign from my humble position tomorrow morning!"

In the afternoon, Wei Jiansu reported to Li Ye his meeting with Bai Xiaode.

At the beginning, the Helong army had few generals and no energy to conquer Anxi. Li Ye appointed Bai Xiaode as the governor of Anxi. He also considered that Bai Xiaode was from the Qiuci royal family and had more prestige among the countries in Anxi. At the same time, he gave Bai Xiaode military and political power.

Now that the imperial court has ended the Battle of Hezhong, the time is ripe to reform Anxi.

At present, Anxi needs to undergo two major reforms. First, the governor's office must be changed from a strategic type to a military type. The second is to implement the county system.

Among them, the implementation of the county system can be delayed for a few years, but it is urgent to change the garrison to a military type.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Bai Xiaode has promised to resign as Governor of Anxi early tomorrow morning."

"What about the positions of military envoys in the four towns of Anxi?" Li Ye asked.

"Resign too!"

Li Ye nodded and said: "Once Bai Xiaode resigns, Xi Wanli will be appointed as the military envoy of the four towns in Anxi. The Anxi governor's office will be changed to the Anxi pacification envoy. Li Chenghua will serve as the pacification envoy and will be specifically responsible for implementing the grace order."

"Your Majesty has considered it carefully, but your Majesty will let Bai Xiaode know about the grace order. Will he do it?"

"Afraid that he will inform other countries in Anxi?"

Li Ye smiled lightly and said: "I told him because of my trust in him. If he wants to inform other countries, then there is no need for any gentleness to solve it. If he just kills him and bleeds into a river, wouldn't the problem be solved faster? If he has a little bit more You should know that the extension of grace is the best solution for Anxi. Everyone is satisfied, but it will take a little longer, three or five years. I can afford to wait! "

Bai Xiaode began to write a letter of resignation when he returned to his home. Of course, the reasons were very good. The main reason was that he was old and sick and could no longer trek to the snow-capped mountains and plateaus.

After quickly finishing his resignation letter, Bai Xiaode put down his pen and walked to the front of the hall with his hands behind his hands, looking at the sunset. He would stay in Chang'an from now on.

The youngest son Bai Lingcheng said with some worry: "If my father resigns, I'm afraid it won't be able to stop the imperial court from forcibly implementing the county system. Will those princes accept the fate of King Gaochang?"

Bai Xiaode shook his head, "My resignation has nothing to do with the county system. I resigned just to change the Anxi Governor's Office from a strategic type to a military type, and to separate military and political affairs. I was also worried about the county system before."

Speaking of this, Bai Xiaode turned back to his son and said, "If the system of prefectures and counties is forcibly implemented, don't expect the fate of King Gaochang. King Gaochang made the choice to assess the situation and actively cooperated with Beiting to implement the system of prefectures and counties, so that he could end well." , once the Tang army used forceful promotion, it would be a killing, and all the royal family would not survive. The court would never leave any trouble for them to rebel again, but the emperor promised to use gentle methods to implement the county system. "

"What kind of gentle means does the emperor plan to use?"

"Wei Xiangguo told me that the emperor is going to implement the decree of grace and allow each kingdom to be divided into several small kingdoms. The court will recognize them and all of them will be crowned kings. Aren't the brothers of your second uncle's family fighting for the throne of Qiuci all day long? Are you going to live and die? No need to do that now. Now divide the Kingdom of Qiuchi into four small kingdoms, and each son will be a king. The court will recognize it, and your second uncle will not have to worry about the four sons killing each other. "

Bai Lingcheng was surprised and said: "With this, wouldn't there be hundreds of small countries in Anxi?"

"It will definitely happen. Even if they are unwilling to separate, the imperial court will help them divide it, just like dividing a family. When it becomes a piece of scattered sand, everyone will support the Gaochangguo plan. A few generations later, more than a hundred small families will be separated. The king became more than a hundred landowners, this is the emperor's merciful approach."

"We can write to my second uncle and ask him to resist the grace order!"

"asshole!"

Bai Xiaode glared at his son, "Your second uncle treats you well. Why are you so vicious and want their whole family to die?"

Bai Lingcheng was so frightened that he waved his hands quickly, "I don't mean that, kid!"

Bai Xiaode said fiercely: "If you don't have this intention, why should he resist the grace order? Wouldn't that mean that their whole family will die? There are a lot of people who are willing to be the King of Qiuci."

Bai Lingcheng lowered his head, "I know I was wrong!"

"You idiot! Do you think the emperor will be as stupid as you? The emperor dares to tell me openly, just wait for me to report to Kucha, and then kill your second uncle's family for rebellion. We are also implicated. I have to take poison Suicide, is this what you want? If you don’t understand, just shut up!”

Bai Lingcheng's face turned red after being scolded, and he did not dare to say another word.