nucmednet Chapter 439 Bingzhou Situation
Chapter 439 Bingzhou Situation
After experiencing that brutal battle, Zhao Yongqiang looked at the piles of corpses in the valley with mixed feelings.
It is his unshirkable responsibility to properly resettle the fallen soldiers and their families.
After much deliberation, he decided to send someone on horseback as fast as possible to deliver his ideas on compensation and resettlement to Luancheng in the form of a letter.
After receiving the letter, Zhao Sheng's face was solemn. He looked up at Zhao Long and Zhao Yongsheng in the room and slowly asked, "What do you think?"
Zhao Yongsheng frowned slightly and fell into deep thought. After a moment, he said, "According to common sense, since these matters involve aristocratic families, the railway group should pay for them.
After all, the railway protection team is also to a certain extent to protect the interests of the railway, and they are also for those mines, so the mines should also contribute a portion. In this way, the noble families will not have any objections. "
Zhao Long added, his eyes filled with concern and deep thought: "If these funds are not enough, we can provide some subsidies.
If they are willing, we might as well let them come and live with us. The railway or mining department should arrange jobs for them, which would also be a kind of comfort to the families of the heroes and martyrs."
Zhao Sheng nodded silently, thinking they were right. He said, "Let's do this. First, bring their bodies back and hold a funeral according to the proper etiquette. Then, go door to door and deliver the appropriate compensation."
He knew very well that these fallen soldiers gave their lives for this land, and their families deserved the best resettlement, which was not only a respect for the deceased, but also a comfort to the living.
Over the next few days, everyone was busy trying to identify the soldiers who had died in the battle. After the count was complete, a solemn funeral ceremony was held for them.
The dead are gone, the railway protection team successfully eliminated Shi Li and others from the ? clan, and also crushed the Wang family's conspiracy. The aristocratic families were quite satisfied with this.
However, in the court, turmoil arose again.
Cui Bingzhong, the Minister of Revenue, stepped out of his position and solemnly began, "Your Majesty, I have recently checked the accounts and discovered that Bingzhou's tax revenue has been decreasing year by year. By the end of last year, only 30% of the tax quota had been collected. I request your judgment."
As soon as these words were spoken, all the court officials were shocked. Many of them instantly thought of the recent destruction of the Bingzhou Wang family and realized that Cui Bingzhong's attack was obviously aimed at the Bingzhou Wang family.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Zhao Hui remained calm and said calmly, "Oh, Wang Danwang has served as the prefect of Bingzhou for many years. If he is no longer capable of the job, he should step down."
Zhao Hui's intention was obvious: he wanted to send someone to replace the Wang family's power in Bingzhou.
Zhao Hui had long been dissatisfied with the Wang family's support for Zhao Hong, especially since Zhao Hong had taken Zhao Qin's position. Zhao Hui had always wanted to find an opportunity to eliminate the Wang family's power, but he had no excuse.
Now Cui Bingzhong's move just fulfilled his wish, and Zhao Hui was secretly delighted.
Lu Yipeng was recently demoted and is eager to get a real job.
When he heard that the governor of Bingzhou was going to change, he had an idea and thought to himself that if he could go to Bingzhou, it would be a great opportunity.
Just as he was about to step forward to introduce himself.
Cui Mingyi, the Minister of Personnel, was sharp-eyed and saw Lu Yipeng's actions, and felt anxious.
He knew that this matter would ultimately require a recommendation from the Ministry of Personnel. If Lu Yipeng volunteered at this time, Zhao Hui would definitely be embarrassed according to the customary practice of self-recommendation for officials of the same rank who were transferred from Beijing to local positions.
So he quickly poked Zhao Zhiqiang with his hand, signaling him to stop Lu Yipeng.
Zhao Zhiqiang understood what he meant and hurried forward to say, "Your Majesty, Li Ke, the Tongzhi of Bingzhou, can take on this position."
Lu Yipeng's self-recommendation was interrupted by Zhao Zhiqiang. When he heard that Li Ke was recommended, he was displeased and stepped forward to refute: "Li Ke is only the Tongzhi of Bingzhou. If his superiors can't do it well, how can he, a subordinate, be qualified for such a big task?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the court was in an uproar, and everyone had their own thoughts.
Zhao Hui naturally understood what the two were thinking.
To be honest, Li Ke is from the Li family, and the Li family's power is somewhat weakened now. Zhao Hui really doesn't want Li Ke to take office.
Besides, what Lu Yipeng said made some sense, but he did not intend to make any important use of the Lu family.
After a moment's thought, Zhao Hui slowly said, "Mr. Lu's words make sense. Li Ke has little experience as a Tongzhi and needs more polishing.
Let's put it this way: the Bingzhou prefecture is temporarily vacant, and General Du Ziqing will be promoted to Bingzhou Governor, with Li Ke as his accomplice."
As soon as the emperor said this, the court was in an uproar again.
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the highest-ranking official was the Inspector. Later, the aristocratic families selected prefects. On the surface, their official status was the same, but the Inspector was appointed by the imperial power, while the prefect was recommended by the local government.
Zheng Xiangyi of Yanzhou was the governor, and now Bingzhou has another governor, which means that Bingzhou will no longer send vassal kings and will be completely controlled by imperial power.
When Cui Bingzhong heard the emperor's decree, he felt secretly annoyed. He had originally hoped to arrange for his own people to go to Bingzhou to strengthen the Cui family's power. Now it seems that the plan has failed. He felt that today's report seemed not so wonderful.
After Du Ziqing took office as the governor of Bingzhou, he knew that his first task was to control the military power and suppress the power of the Wang family.
The best thing he can currently leverage is the advantage of the Bingzhou Li family behind Li Ke, but he also understands that he cannot let the Li family dominate alone.
Although the Cui family helped a lot this time, he was not confused. Since he was a royalist, he had to introduce royal forces to maintain balance.
Zhao Hui received a letter from Du Ziqing sent from Bingzhou. In the letter, Du Ziqing sincerely expressed his determination to support the imperial power, and at the same time hoped that the emperor could point him in the right direction.
After much deliberation, Zhao Hui finally decided to let Zhao Sheng intervene in Bingzhou affairs and send Fan Xitong to take over Bingzhou's business.
So he summoned Fan Wenyuan and Fan Xitong into the palace.
Fan Wenyuan came to the emperor's study, and after listening to Zhao Hui's intentions, he bowed and said:
"Your Majesty, I understand your intention. You hope that I, with the title of Princess Consort, can work with the Sixth Prince to develop Bingzhou."
Although Zhao Hui's intention was not fully stated, the meaning was clear.
"Yes, Bingzhou's tax revenue is not good. Du Ziqing is a military commander, and Li Ke's ability is limited. I have no choice but to ask my brother-in-law to help."
Zhao Hui called Fan Xitong his brother-in-law, which shows how much he valued him and also shows his determination to incorporate Bingzhou into the royal system.
"Your Majesty, Dingzhou is now developing a railway group. I think we can start with this."
Seeing that Zhao Hui was determined to take Bingzhou and wanted to gain benefits from Zhao Sheng, Fan Xitong directly mentioned the matter of the railway group.
"Okay, I'll leave everything to my brother-in-law. They're all family, and I believe they can make a difference."
Zhao Hui's words are ambiguous, seemingly everything is possible, but they also contain hidden meanings.
When Fan Xitong heard the emperor's words, his heart was filled with anxiety. If this mission went wrong, he might end up in a difficult situation.
However, the emperor's order was difficult to disobey, and he knew he had no way to resist. At this moment, he could only take one step at a time, see what happened, and adapt to the situation.
Watching the father and son walking away, Zhao Hui couldn't help but let out a long sigh, his expression solemn.
He has a grand blueprint in his heart, and vows to move forward unimpeded on this broad road. On this road, no one can become an obstacle to his progress, without exception...