Chapter 1078 Governance

The wind in the north is fierce, blowing cattle and sheep back to the shed, blowing horses' manes up, blowing men frowning, blowing girls' faces red. The yellow sand dances wildly, and the sky and the earth are not clear.

Wang·Longtu Pavilion Direct Scholar·Chaoyilang·Guanglu Temple Shaoqing·Acting Governor of Henan Road Pacifying Envoy and Governor of Yanzhou·Xiaoqiwei·Specially Granted Purple Clothing, wearing a purple robe and a mink coat, because of the strong wind, he did not wear a winged official hat, but only tied his hair up high, inserted a jade green hairpin, and wore official boots, standing on the gentle slope of the hill.

His hands were folded in his sleeves, and the north wind rolled up his coat.

"Mr. Fan, Mr. Di, go back. The cold wind is biting. You two are not young anymore. You'd better stay away."

The two old men looked deeply at the Khitan camp opposite. They wanted to fight...

This is Nuanquan Peak, where Xiazhou borders Khitan. A considerable number of soldiers and horses are stationed here. They have even fought each other before, during the previous peace talks.

Wang Yan wrote to the emperor repeatedly, requesting a northern expedition to cooperate with the peace talks. After the ceasefire with Xixia, he directly drove the army over. Without saying a word, he launched an attack on the Khitan defenders here. There was a small group battle of 10,000 people, and the opponent was defeated. After the talks, the Khitan increased its troops to Nuanquan Peak. The peace talks went smoothly and no annual tribute was required.

"Zi Yan, tell me clearly when you are going to start?" Fan Zhong asked solemnly without any reason.

Di Qing on the side also looked over, waiting for Wang Yan's answer.

Wang Yan pretended to be silent for a while, then slowly said: "If there is no peace this time, we should fight against Khitan now. Yelu Zongzhen is dead, and Yelu Hongji has ascended the throne. Now is a godsend opportunity. We can't fight now, and we have lost the opportunity. If we fight again, we don't need to find a good time. We can only kill them on an auspicious day. But since we have stopped the war, we must manage it well. If I am still an official here within two years, I will definitely attack Khitan at that time."

"Yanyun has hope..." Di Qing smiled and nodded.

"Mr. Fan and Mr. Di have to take care of their health to have hope."

"You have seen it all, haven't you? I am very healthy." Fan Zhongyan waved his hand, "I will not go back with you. I will go back to Beijing from Hedong with the Han ministers, and I will fight them again."

The old horse is still ambitious, and Fan Zhongyan, who accepted Wang Yan's new ideas for reform, is full of fighting spirit and courage.

Wang Yan smiled and bowed: "I wish Mr. Fan to achieve his wish, and Mr. Di does not need to worry. Before this, I have already reported to the emperor alone and explained the seriousness of the matter. This time when I return to Beijing, Mr. Di can resign, and he does not need to return to his hometown, and stay idle in Beijing."

Di Qing understood as soon as he heard it, that is, to keep him in Beijing and watch him. He sighed: "Thank you Ziyan for your help."

"Mr. Di should take good care of his health. In less than three years, he will surely rise again."

Di Qing smiled and nodded, followed Fan Zhongyan on the carriage and went south. Wang Yan stood in the strong wind and bowed to see him off...

After the peace talks, it was natural to share the fruits of victory, and everyone from top to bottom was promoted and made a fortune.

Wang Yan was naturally promoted, from the original seventh rank to the sixth rank, a double promotion. Of course, the official position is useless, and the actual work assignment of "Acting as the Governor of Henan Road and the Governor of Yanzhou" is more important.

Henan Road is the division of the land that Wang Yan had just conquered. It was named because it is located south of the Yellow River's "Ji" bend. It governs the six states of Yin, Shi, Xia, You, and Yan. In order to balance resources, and to take Wang Yan's ideas into consideration, Yanzhou was drawn over. As he thought, he would govern everything, and all the original troops, whether the wing troops or the imperial guards, would be under his command. This is his current sphere of power.

Of course, this is definitely not a reward for him, because with his merits this time, as well as the political and military abilities he has demonstrated, he is enough to be promoted two levels in his official position, reaching the fifth rank, and he will also be granted the title of earl. As for dispatch, the positions of assistant minister of state affairs and deputy envoy of the secrets can all be promoted at once. But obviously, letting him enter the center is more desirable than letting Fan Zhongyan rule the world.

Everyone knows that once Wang Yan enters the center, no matter what position he holds, he will be the prime minister, and there will be no way for others to survive. Many people have already made up their minds to keep Wang Yan out of the center for the rest of their lives.

To this day, they are very sure that it is impossible to kill Wang Yan. After all, Wang Yan has been seeking death since he became an official, but he has not died yet. Instead, he has sent many people to death.

Moreover, Wang Yan himself has given others a handle. This time he took the initiative and started the war. How could he let him go?

So taking advantage of this, he was only promoted two levels and was allowed to clean up the new land by himself. Wang Yan has been away from Beijing for two years, and this time he can stay for several more years.

Of course, Wang Yan is willing to do so. Whether it is the promotion of new banknotes, the infiltration of Xixia and Khitan, or the current military power, he needs it.

This battle was very successful and the gains were great. The overall land of Xixia was occupied, which basically left Xixia with a breath. As the saying goes, don't chase the desperate enemy. If the war continues, Xixia will definitely burst out with greater potential and fight back desperately. This is also some of the considerations of the ministers in the capital.

Wang Yan did not strongly oppose it. The main reason is that he is currently unable to confront the entire Song Dynasty. However, Xixia was badly hurt, which was actually part of the reason.

Next, he could manage the newly conquered land and population while slowly adjusting Xixia. Of course, Khitan would not let it go. Two new trading places were opened, one in the east and one in the west, to trade with Xixia and Khitan respectively. This was the breakthrough.

What Mo Zang Epang and others said was right. There were constant rebellions in Xixia, and all kinds of killing officials and rebellions were instigated by him. At present, if the three families of Song, Liao and Xia are ranked in order of exploitation, Xixia must be the highest, followed by Liao, and finally Song.

In the past two years, because of Wang Yan, the atmosphere of being an official has been affected to a certain extent, and the big families have been restrained a lot. If everyone restrains a little and makes less money, social contradictions will be greatly eased.

Because they are leaving a way out for themselves. Anyone who is called a "knowledgeable person" knows clearly that even if Wang Yan cannot be a prime minister, he is still a big boss who has been moving around in the local area. Wang Yan is so powerful that it is impossible for him to serve in the border area for too long. That would be a disaster for the country. Sooner or later, they will be officials at their doorsteps, and then they will be finished. So they all tacitly leave a way for themselves, and they will have something to say when they are dealt with.

Now Wang Yan has defeated Xixia again, and it is inevitable that he will fight against Khitan in the near future. They have nowhere to run and can only hide in the ravines. And Wang Yan would send troops to sweep the mountains, drive away wild beasts, and fight against mountain bandits. They couldn't even hide in the ravines for too long...

Fan Zhongyan has not made any specific arrangements yet, but Wang Yan can say for sure that Fan Zhongyan will not be able to resume his position as prime minister. Because reform can only be implemented when it is necessary. Now that the situation has improved a little, and a lot of land has been recaptured, they will not support the reform.

But on the other hand, Wang Yan's reform method is effective. Hangzhou, Qingzhou, and Yanzhou are all visible successes. The monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty are not fools who don't know good from bad. They will definitely find a way to slowly implement it throughout the country, but they can't be as fierce as Wang Yan, but more gentle.

And this "gentle" is the purpose of Zhao Zhen's transfer of Fan Zhongyan to Beijing. Zhao Zhen is not old and confused. He still wants to make his Zhao family's country better and his reputation better after his death. It's time for him to consider these things.

Let's go back to the principle of making money for the reform. Fan Zhongyan will probably enter the three divisions as a deputy envoy and hang half of the prime minister.

Fan Zhongyan himself had expected this. On the way back to Beijing, he took a long detour to meet Wang Yan, just to discuss with Wang Yan how to be "gentle" and the general action plan.

Unlike Wang Yan, who was not popular, Fan Zhongyan was still very prestigious, because of his many years of management as an official and his age. As far as being an official is concerned, being young is an advantage, and being old is also an advantage. Moreover, Fan Zhongyan's reforms in Qingzhou were already very gentle. Although he also encountered assassinations, his resistance was far less than that of the wealthy families in Hangzhou.

Therefore, Fan Zhongyan was still very confident. He said that he was hated by people like Wang Yan, which was self-deprecating. Moreover, it has been six years since Hangzhou, which is not a short time. Whether it is officials or wealthy families, they have already known each other. Hangzhou must be the direction of future reforms, which can be regarded as a pilot role.

Another point, which is also quite important, is that Fan Zhongyan has a magic weapon. If it is difficult to advance on some key issues, he will solve the problem with one sentence, I will let Wang Yan go...

Wang Yan is a good knife in the eyes of the superiors, and an absolutely ferocious dog in the eyes of the subordinates, the kind that bites people to death, which is so painful...

In addition to discussing the "gentle" method and unifying the opinions on future actions, it is to let Wang Yan take another look at his body, and Di Qing will also take a look.

It is said that when they fought before, the two of them were well-prepared and did not stay up late at all. They were so leisurely in such an emergency, and I think they will pay more attention in the future...

After bidding farewell to Fan Zhongyan, Wang Yan began to concentrate on managing the territory of Henan Road.

It is nothing more than three axes, dealing with big households, dealing with gangsters, dividing land, collecting business taxes, and carrying out a large number of engineering construction. In addition, he has the power to issue new money independently, and there is no need to use a large amount of copper to mint coins and issue them. Just like the development of the country a thousand years later, a certain degree of fiscal deficit is not a big deal.

Moreover, the central government did not collect taxes from him. As long as he ensured the stability of the newly acquired land and paid a part of the border army's military funds, he would be successful. In fact, this is what the capital city requires from border officials.

But they did not expect that Wang Yan would make Yanzhou rich after one year, and trained a strong army, and directly pulled it out to fight Xixia. Even after the entire battle, Yanzhou's military funds did not require the capital city to pay, but only provided a large amount of military equipment, as well as normal imperial army expenses and a small amount of imperial army casualties pensions, to make up for some food gaps, and the rest was all supported by the power of Yanzhou.

This is why people love and hate Wang Yan. He is too good at making money, and he is not exhausting the pond to fish. After all, Hangzhou is there. Except for the fact that the number of talents in the imperial examination has been cut in half and has not recovered until now, everything else is good.

Thriving is an adjective. But in the place where Wang Yan is in charge, it is a real change visible to the naked eye. If this time is extended to ten years, it can also be called an earth-shaking change.

After all kinds of officials were fully equipped and Wang Yan dealt with those who dared to disobey, the entire Henan Road developed steadily.

Wang Yan also quietly promoted the circulation and spread of his new banknotes in the border areas.

With official support, coupled with Wang Yan's vigorous development of trade and his tough demands, the new banknotes issued by him must be used for transactions in the two east and west markets in the Henan Road under his jurisdiction.

As commercial exchanges unfolded, merchants naturally discovered the convenience and strength of the new banknotes, and they would inevitably accept them slowly. The anchoring of the new banknotes was calculated by Wang Yan based on all taxes, gross domestic product, etc., instead of simply anchoring one point.

And to be honest, the new banknotes were anchored by his personal power. He did not actually print the new banknotes according to the calculated data. That was just his explanation to the merchants.

In fact, he issued the new banknotes based on the population of the new banknotes. He roughly combined the data and sold a number that would not explode based on experience. It was basically at the limit. As we all know, there is no way to quickly pull up construction without incurring debt.

As for the conditioning of Xixia and Khitan, it was going on all the time. He now sent troops out to fight alone, wanting to perform some biological warfare, but no one took it. Summarizing war experience is a necessary thing. Whether it is Xixia or Khitan, they all believe that Wang Yan's previous sending troops to fight alone and killing many elites is an important factor affecting the war.

But it doesn't matter. He will send people to both sides to secretly publicize his policies and say how good it is here. And because they are close to each other, they have actually heard about the good life here a long time ago. This kind of news cannot be blocked. They are spreading it among themselves. He sends people to spread it again, and it still has some effect.

Some people choose to run to Wang Yan's side with their families to live, while others listen to the people sent by Wang Yan to preach that his way to make people rich is to kill the rich and corrupt officials, and how good life is. They get red-eyed and pick up knives with blood...

These are all things that people like to hear and see.

In fact, it is not just Xixia and Khitan. People from other neighboring counties and prefectures also secretly run here. They all want to live a good life, which is understandable...

In this way, the entire Henan Road developed steadily and prospered.

And Fan Zhongyan was not surprisingly appointed as the deputy envoy of the Three Departments. The first thing he did was to collect business taxes, first in the capital. Because Fan Zhongyan found that there was a cleaning department in the patrol office of Kaifeng Prefecture, he suddenly realized that if Wang Yan had not been driven out of the capital at that time, he would have to collect cleaning fees in the capital next.

So he let it go and continued the unfinished business of Wang Yan. Anyway, he could also dispatch the patrol office. Wang Yan also told him that the patrol office had a small book...

Fan Zhongyan was really not in a hurry. He already knew that as long as he increased the commercial tax and reduced some miscellaneous taxes of the people, he would immediately be much more stable, so he calmly started from the capital and slowly radiated to the surrounding areas.

In this process, various means of supervision were used to deal with the big households and officials who colluded and concealed, and to solve other problems. Today, this is unstoppable. This is a trend set off by Wang Yan because it is "correct". But the land is not enough. It is the lifeblood, and he dare not move it on a large scale.

During this period, a major event also happened, that is, Xiao Dongliang got married. She is not a lady from a wealthy family, but a daughter of a poor family. Her brother is a poor scholar who became a minor official because of Wang Yan's policy. He taught his sister to read and write in his spare time.

Wang Yan has seen it. The girl is very pretty and has a big butt, which is very consistent with Xiao Dongliang's aesthetics. I still remember how much Xiao Dongliang missed her when he mentioned her to him.

Interestingly, Xiao Dongliang also saw this girl on the street. Since Wang Yan said that he wanted him to get married, he went out for a stroll all day, just like Wang Yan saw Hua Lan at the beginning...

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