Chapter 1133: Xiazhou Surrenders

"I have always advocated diligence in governance and closeness to the people, and this is how the officials below are diligent, and this is how they are close to the people? Hm?"

Winter had already arrived, and the temperature had dropped somewhat, though it was not yet truly cold. Even so, inside Chongzheng Hall, facing the angered Emperor Liu, the several ministers present all felt a chill run down their spines, each lowering their heads slightly, the atmosphere tense.

The reason for Emperor Liu's anger was that he had received certain rumors concerning the prevailing style of governance in the localities. According to the investigation, a considerable number of prefectural and county officials, for no particular reason, liked to go down to inspect. Prefectural officials went down to counties and towns, county officials went down to villages and hamlets.

There was nothing inherently objectionable about this—it was inspection and research, heeding the Emperor's exhortations, responding to diligence in governance and closeness to the people, understanding conditions below, and listening to public opinion. However, the problems arose precisely from this.

When a superior official came to inspect and guide, the subordinate officials naturally had to show some expression of regard—welcoming and receiving, even celebratory ceremonies, and even the reappearance of offerings and tributes. In earlier years, when military governors of the provinces still existed, one of the great abuses was that officials of subordinate prefectures and counties would extort and plunder to provide welcome tributes, until Emperor Liu explicitly prohibited it by decree, and only then did the practice begin to turn around.

The more serious problem, however, was the frequent trips down to the countryside. In the name of observing the people's condition and getting close to the common folk, quite a few officials unabashedly enjoyed the hospitality and offerings of various villages and hamlets.

Once or twice could be tolerated, but when such behavior became the norm, the burden on ordinary rural folk grew heavy. For example, the County Magistrate of Anyang ran around the towns and villages under his jurisdiction every few days, putting on a show of closeness to the people, one place at a time, and at each place he merely ate and drank, at most collecting some local produce as tribute—living quite comfortably indeed...

When he learned of this situation, Emperor Liu was furious. In the course of governing the state, he had seen all manner of problems, great and small. But what enraged him most were these acts that twisted his edicts' intent and violated his original purposes.

Emperor Liu was truly a suspicious man, a sensitive man. He could not help but think: merely advocating "diligence in governance and closeness to the people," and those "clever" officials below could play such tricks—so were the court's policies and institutions truly being implemented and obeyed by the officials?

What was the real state of governance in the prefectures and counties of the Great Han, what was the true face of the people's livelihood—he could not help but put a question mark over it. Even though he had many eyes and ears, his sight and hearing never blocked, and his sources of information were diverse, without seeing it with his own eyes, he could not be entirely at ease.

Thus, his desire to go on an imperial tour grew ever stronger...

"Your Majesty, these situations are, after all, in the minority. There are tens of thousands of officials in the realm, naturally a mix of good and bad, and a few rotten apples are unavoidable. Since such problems have been discovered, prescribe the right medicine and deal with them through punishment and correction." In the hall, Li Ye spoke up. The Emperor's maternal uncle took a rather philosophical view of it, appearing quite calm.

In fact, he had seen such things when he served as an official in the localities, especially in remote and impoverished regions, where they were actually common. It was just that most people would not be as utterly shameless as those fools who had been exposed.

"What the Imperial Uncle says is quite right! Most officials do fulfill their duties. Your Majesty must not condemn all the officials of the realm for the misdeeds of a few!" Dou Yi also stepped forward and spoke bluntly.

Hearing this, Emperor Liu could not help but glance at the two of them. When had Dou Yi ever agreed with Li Ye's opinion? This was a rare occurrence. In the court, the minister who gave the Imperial Uncle Li the least face was none other than Dou Yi—after all, Dou Yi's foul temper was such that he would even dare to rebuke Emperor Liu himself.

Still, Emperor Liu agreed with both their views. If all the officials of the Great Han behaved this way, the empire would have long since fallen into serious trouble.

After considering for a moment, Emperor Liu looked around the hall and asked: "Since such problems have been discovered, the court must produce some punitive measures to reverse this unhealthy style of governance!"

Punishment was simple—handle it according to the regulations. But how to reverse this unhealthy trend? Outright prohibiting officials from inspecting and going down to the countryside was clearly impossible—that would be like giving up eating for fear of choking, and it was easy to foresee that it would create problems of negligent governance.

In short, no matter what policy or regulation was enacted, problems would always arise. Solve the old ones, and new ones would spring up—this was a constant.

As Chief Chancellor, Wei Renpu spoke: "Your Majesty, for officials of this kind, investigators can be dispatched. Those whose facts are confirmed shall be stripped of office without exception; those with grave circumstances shall be imprisoned and prosecuted. The court should issue a clear edict to all prefectures and counties of the realm, sternly denouncing such conduct of feigning governance and closeness to the people while actually disturbing them. Officials without official business shall not go down to the countryside to stay overnight, and it is strictly forbidden to accept offerings from the villagers. Furthermore, henceforth, the supervisory agencies shall make this a focus of their inspections!"

Hearing Wei Renpu's proposal, Emperor Liu agreed after only a moment's thought, and said directly: "Then do as Minister Wei suggests!"

After speaking, he let out a light sigh. It was hard to come up with better measures.

"Your Majesty, Commissioner of Military Affairs Li Chuyun requests an audience!" As Emperor Liu was sighing, an usher entered to report.

"Has a military dispatch arrived at the capital?" Emperor Liu immediately perked up, waving a hand: "Summon him!"

Soon, Li Chuyun stepped into the hall, indeed holding a military dispatch in his hand. Li Chuyun bowed and presented it, reporting: "Your Majesty, a military dispatch from the northwest—Yang Ye has taken Xiazhou!"

Hearing such good news, Emperor Liu's brows lifted with joy, and his gloomy mood improved considerably. He took the military dispatch that Yan Tuo presented, and at the same time had Li Chuyun explain the situation to the ministers present.

A full three months had passed since Yang Ye received the edict and departed for his post in the northwest. Counting the time spent traveling, as well as the necessary time for the initial troop deployments and logistical preparations, he had been holding his forces still for nearly two months.

Over such a long stretch, Yang Ye remained steady in Yanzhou, but the officials at court showed considerably less patience, and all sorts of voices began to emerge.

In the view of many, the Dingnan Army was a mere trifle—few in numbers and weak in arms. The court had prepared tens of thousands of troops and was closing in from three directions—Yan, Yan, and Feng—so why did it need to drag on this long? Even the pacification of Hexi back in the day had not been so drawn out.

Of course, knowing the depth of Emperor Liu's trust and favor toward Yang Ye, no one was foolish enough to submit a memorial directly attacking Yang Ye, but quite a few people did submit memorials expressing their views on the use of troops and the progress of the campaign.

That was on the surface; behind the scenes, there was even more criticism—some felt Yang Ye was overrated, others felt he was overly cautious and timid. Among those voicing these opinions, besides civil officials who understood nothing of military strategy and had never experienced battle, there were also quite a few generals.

In the view of some military men: if I went, I could do it too—I would never drag things out like Yang Ye...

From this it could be seen that being a commander-in-chief, directing the affairs of a campaign, was by no means an easy task. Besides solving military problems, the political pressure from behind was equally enormous.

Yang Ye was fortunate in having an emperor who trusted him completely and supported him fully, shielding him from the pressure coming from behind.

According to the military dispatch from the northwest, on the ninth day of the tenth month, the Han army had already marched into Xiazhou city, and Li Guangrui had surrendered.

On the second day of the tenth month, the Han army set out in three columns simultaneously. The western column, led by Cui Han with five thousand troops, departed from Yanzhou; the northern column, led by Tian Renlang with three thousand troops, departed from Fengzhou—these were purely flanking forces for coordination. The main army, personally led by Yang Ye, set out from Yanzhou and marched straight out beyond the Great Wall.

From beginning to end, only one battle was fought. At Anping Stockade on the Xia-Yan border, Li Guangrui had sent two thousand Dingnan Army troops to hold the position, intending to delay and buy time—but they could not hold out for even a single day, and the price they paid was 107 casualties.

After that, it was a triumphant march all the way, with no further resistance encountered along the route. Facing the menacing advance of tens of thousands of Han troops, and under the Great Han's political offensive, the Dingnan Army—already disintegrating within and without, its morale in turmoil—how could it possibly resist?

When hearts are scattered, the ranks are hard to lead. Thus, the march was unstoppable, and surrenders followed like shadows. Many officials, commoners, and tribes even took the initiative to welcome the army and present provisions for the troops.

And so, on the eighth day, the Han army under Yang Ye's command arrived smoothly at Xiazhou city. Throughout this process, Li Guangrui had no means of countermeasure. Leading his troops out to meet the enemy was a course with no hope of victory whatsoever—only the sturdy walls of Xiazhou could provide him with some semblance of confidence.

But the facts proved that all his previous efforts at response had been utterly useless. When the Han army arrived at the city walls, people secretly reported on the situation within the city, and there were many willing to rise up and welcome the king's army into the city.

Within the city, given the overwhelming strength of the Han army, more than half of the Dingnan Army's civil and military officials directly advised Li Guangrui to surrender. Of the remaining half, only a scant few were willing to fight to the death alongside Li Guangrui.

With strong enemy forces pressing from without and hearts divided within, even with half the people supporting him, Li Guangrui might have been willing to gamble—but reality was cruel.

And so, under pressure from both within and without, Li Guangrui, feeling utterly powerless, still did not dare to stake everything, and chose to surrender.