Chapter 131: Chaos in the Eastern Capital

Drawing down the carriage curtain to cover the window, feeling the jolting, Liu Chengyou looked at Li Shaoyou and asked, "These past days, the capital region must have been quite lively, I imagine."

"Lively is an understatement—it's been utter chaos, a pandemonium of disorder!" Li Shaoyou said with a serious expression and a sigh.

"What kind of chaos?" Liu Chengyou asked calmly. There was no great surprise in his brow—he had already heard some things.

"Civil unrest, military unrest, political unrest." Li Shaoyou summarized with three kinds of unrest, his tone grave.

By now, several hundred thousand people had gathered in the capital region. Originally, after the Khitan's destructive plundering, the populace had mostly fled and scattered to take refuge—there hadn't been this many people. But as the situation in the Central Plains gradually stabilized, many who heard the news returned. At the same time, the economy of the entire Central Plains region had completely collapsed, and the various prefectures and counties lacked survival resources, so many starving people also migrated toward the Eastern Capital.

On Liu Zhiyuan's side, taking the Eastern Capital was legitimate and proper—the realm was settled—but in truth, he had taken on a huge burden. After entering the city, with a thousand tangled threads, he was busy winning people's hearts (founding ministers and former dynasty officials and soldiers), rewarding merit, and granting offices and titles.

With a slow reaction, they paid no attention at first to the refugees swarming in like ants. By the time they noticed the crowds growing larger and larger, they belatedly issued edicts to the officials and commanders of each prefecture to restrain the people of the realm, ensuring they moved between prefectures and counties. At the same time, they dispatched officers and soldiers in all directions to guard passes and set up checkpoints to block the refugees, keeping them outside the capital region—there were even cases of driving out and killing commoners.

Under the Han court's harsh measures, that wave of "seeking food in the Eastern Capital" finally receded, but how many people would die in the process and how much popular support would be lost was temporarily not within their scope of consideration.

Even so, tens of thousands of commoners, with their families in tow, fled to Kaifeng and were blocked outside the city walls. The court couldn't completely ignore these people, so it simply set up a few relief points and distributed some "grain"—the kind you'd feed livestock. Even so, to the newly born court, these people were an extra burden. Some suggested driving the refugees away and letting them fend for themselves. Fortunately, beneath the Son of Heaven's feet, Liu Zhiyuan intended to preserve this last scrap of decency and didn't listen.

Tens of thousands of riotous people in the capital region wasn't actually a big problem—it had always been within controllable bounds. The real outbreak of civil unrest came after the families of the Hedong imperial army soldiers moved in.

Counting the Longqi Army under Liu Chengyou's command, the troops that followed Liu Zhiyuan out of Hedong to conquer the realm numbered about fifty thousand cavalry and infantry. These forces were the imperial army guarding the capital region, and their families left behind in Taiyuan were also relocated in batches.

Back and forth, over a hundred thousand people had already come south. These commoners were families of the imperial army—they couldn't be treated roughly like ordinary refugees. They required special attention and had to be properly settled. Finding places to settle them wasn't hard—around Kaifeng there was plenty of ownerless land and housing, and even if not, temporary structures could be built.

It wasn't just the families of the original Hedong imperial army—the newly surrendered former dynasty imperial army soldiers and officers were the same. Fortunately, most of these people's relatives were already in the capital region, saving much effort in resettlement.

But with several hundred thousand people gathered together—newcomers and latecomers, outsiders and locals, plus refugees—all sorts, it was utter chaos. Conflicts were basically inevitable: land, housing, food, water... even a verbal quarrel could become the spark for a clash.

The original commoners of the capital region had suffered enough. Liu Zhiyuan's entry into the capital hadn't actually brought them any benefits. Forget about freedom and dignity—those nonsense things—and forget about the property that had been plundered; at least food and clothing should be provided, right? Unfortunately, even that most basic need couldn't be met. Instead, over a hundred thousand people migrated in, crowding out and even seizing their living space and resources.

You should know that the Hedong army families who migrated south were basically "property owners"—they moved their entire households south to the Eastern Capital to enjoy life and be masters. Since the middle of last month, there had been frequent incidents of bullying and robbery, until a major riot broke out—looting targeting the newly arrived Hedong commoners. Those starving refugees also took part.

But those were families of the Hedong army—suppression came immediately, with mass arrests and punishment of the troublemakers. Now the surrendered old army was unhappy. They had also been incorporated into the imperial army—all were the court's imperial army—so were their families easy to bully? The armies of this era dared to draw their blades; it nearly led directly to a bloody fight.

Fortunately, Liu Zhiyuan was very sensitive to changes in the military and his control over the army was still fairly strong. Seeing the signs going wrong, he directly sent people to execute the several military officers who led the trouble and dozens of mid- and low-ranking officers, as a warning to the entire army. Killing sometimes stimulates people to lose their minds, but more often than not, the deterrent effect is greater.

At the same time, Liu Zhiyuan sent people to mediate and separate the military and civilians. In the end, the blame for the riots was pinned on those outside refugees. They arrested and killed some who had committed crimes, and sent troops to place the refugees under military control, confining them to certain areas, with beatings, fines, and executions at will—a bit of a concentration camp flavor...

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but speak up: "How could it descend into such chaos! What is the court doing? Why not channel the refugees and settle them in different places?"

Li Shaoyou shrugged his shoulders and sighed: "Several hundred thousand people—are they that easy to feed?"

"The summer harvest has already passed; summer grain should have been stored by now. Also, what about my spoils from Hebei—those camels, sheep, and grain goods—can't they provide some relief?" Liu Chengyou asked.

"Income can't keep up with expenditure! You have to support the army, support the officials, and reward meritorious ministers and soldiers. What strength is left to support the people? Giving them a mouthful of food so they don't starve is already the court's benevolence," Li Shaoyou said.

"But it shouldn't come to this!" Liu Chengyou said coldly. He recalled the situation at Zhenzhou earlier—over a hundred thousand refugees back and forth, also needing to support the army and defend against the Khitan, and he had managed. In Liu Chengyou's view, the situation in the Central Plains might be difficult, but no matter how difficult, it shouldn't reach this point.

"The court must have mishandled things!" Staring at Li Shaoyou, Liu Chengyou clenched his fist: "If this continues, all popular support will be lost!"

Liu Chengyou's icy gaze startled Li Shaoyou, a bitter smile tinged with paleness on his face: "Popular support? I sent people to investigate secretly—in the eyes of those refugees, our Great Han dynasty is even worse than the Khitan."

Li Shaoyou's words chilled Liu Chengyou's heart somewhat, and that surge of hot blood that had nearly rushed to his head cooled directly.

"How could that be?" Liu Chengyou asked. "Didn't the court issue several edicts for the people's benefit?"

"Let me lay it out for you." Li Shaoyou extended his left hand and began counting on his fingers.

"Edict one: all imprisoned criminals under heaven, except for the ten abominations and five unpardonable crimes, are all pardoned. Those in prison may include some with wrongful cases, but many are those who committed crimes. Pardoning crimes to win popular support is something done in prosperous times. In this age, releasing these criminals—what benefit to the state, what benefit to ordinary people? Moreover, having suffered imprisonment, they harbor resentment toward the court and government. Releasing them—isn't that asking for trouble and harming the people? I can guarantee that many of the mountain bandits and robbers active in the various circuits these days were released by this pardon."

Bending another finger, Li Shaoyou continued: "Edict two: the remaining taxes from last year in all prefectures are waived. Within a hundred li of the Eastern and Western Capitals, summer taxes are fully waived. Beyond a hundred li and in the capital, half of this year's house tax is waived. The tax reduction is considerable, but given the current situation in the Central Plains, what can actually be collected is already little—how much real benefit is there for the people?"

"As for the rest, they're all similar to these." Li Shaoyou shook his head.

Thinking it over carefully, what Li Shaoyou said wasn't without basis. Probably Liu Zhiyuan himself was puzzled—what he had done wasn't much different from previous dynastic establishments. Back then, when Shi Jingtang, that puppet emperor, entered Luoyang, he had basically done the same, so why was the effect so different?

The reasons might be complex, but one thing was clear: at that time, the people of the Central Plains hadn't been ravaged by the Khitan like a plow going through fields, and the mess Shi Jingtang needed to clean up wasn't this rotten. Still, everything has pros and cons—the Central Plains and indeed the entire country being smashed and ground to pieces was actually conducive to reshaping. It's just that this newly born Han dynasty had clearly not done its job well—it couldn't even sort itself out, let alone rebuild the rivers and mountains.

"Why did the military descend into chaos?" Suppressing the restlessness he could barely contain, Liu Chengyou asked.

"You know the habits of those arrogant soldiers and fierce generals from Hedong—they were suppressed before and behaved well enough; before entering Bian, under military law, they could still maintain perfect discipline. But since entering the Central Plains and easily taking the Eastern Capital, they've come to despise everything. The officers are arrogant and lazy, and the soldiers follow suit. His Majesty's control over them is no longer as strict as before..."

Li Shaoyou continued: "Since entering Bian, the incorporated former dynasty imperial army, plus the surrendered military governor troops, plus newly recruited soldiers—the forces have tripled. The contradictions between the old and new imperial armies are by no means small. His Majesty needs the Hedong veteran imperial army to suppress everything, so he's been indulging them."

"During this period, the discipline of the imperial army has gotten worse and worse. I've seen many people swaggering through the streets, throwing their weight around. Their combat effectiveness is probably declining sharply."

Liu Chengyou's brows knitted tighter, and he couldn't help interrupting: "Shi Hongzhao is the Chief Commander of the Imperial Guard—hasn't he always governed the army with strictness and severity? As commander of the imperial army, what responsibility is he bearing?"

"Shi Hongzhao governs the army harshly—that's true," Li Shaoyou said, the words "mockery" practically written on his face: "But that's for outsiders. For those close to him and his confidants, he always shields and covers for them. I can say that the most rampant imperial army officers in the Eastern Capital right now are definitely Shi Hongzhao's men!"

"Because Shi Hongzhao's unfair handling and biased punishments stirred outrage among soldiers inside and outside, they nearly broke into armed conflict a while back."

Liu Chengyou drew a cold breath: "Father—surely he hasn't been indifferent, doing nothing?"

"How could that be? It was precisely because His Majesty was furious and dealt with a batch of offending officers that things calmed down somewhat. But as long as the commanding generals remain the same people, the frivolous atmosphere in the army can't be eliminated. I hear His Majesty has even been angered into illness. Recently, he's been planning to reorganize the imperial army and retrain the various forces..."

The fingers tapping on his knee moved at an extremely rapid pace before finally stopping. Leaning back against the carriage, Liu Chengyou said softly: "If the military is in such chaos, then this political chaos—what kind of chaos is it?"

"Calling it political chaos, it's actually ministerial chaos!" Li Shaoyou said.

After Liu Zhiyuan entered Kaifeng, although he retained a large number of former Jin dynasty ministers—such as Zhao Shangjiao (originally named Zhao Yuan, changing his given name to avoid a taboo), Bian Wei, Wang Jingchong, and others—governmental affairs were in fact entirely entrusted to the "Two Sus."

Su Fengji and Su Yugui, these two, though each had their strengths, had extremely obvious character flaws, and both were basically all talk. They might not even govern a single prefecture or county well, let alone hold the reins of a nation's government. For nearly a month, the court and public in the Eastern Capital were in a foul mess—even less peaceful than Li Congyi's brief "Longde court." And these Two Sus were still fighting for favor and power.

It wasn't until Yang Bin and Wang Zhang brought Liu Zhiyuan's original headquarters staff from Taiyuan, quickly filling the central government and regaining control of the Bureau of Military Affairs and financial power. And Liu Zhiyuan clearly supported Yang and Wang—after all, for so many years, these two had always managed his governmental affairs.

Wang Zhang continued to grimly hold the new dynasty's shriveled purse strings, worrying his hair white, needing to increase the treasury. Calling him a man of action wasn't an overstatement. Seeing the capital's extravagant spending, he submitted a memorial with over a dozen items, abolishing non-urgent affairs and cutting useless expenses. In fact, Wang Zhang was grateful to Liu Chengyou—at least those goods recovered from the Khitan were truly useful; otherwise, he would have lost even more hair.

But there's a way to live poor and a way to live rich—no matter how much was replenished from outside, it still wasn't enough. The Great Han's treasury remained desperately empty. The phrase "expenditures fully covered" existed only in the imagination of memorials. As the court's finance minister, he still had to painstakingly increase wealth. But although Wang Zhang had managed the purse strings for years, he wasn't particularly skilled at the art of "financial management"—what he was better at was extortion...

As for Yang Bin, this man had a strong personality, somewhat arrogant, with a tough style, unafraid of offending people, and unable to tolerate any speck in his eye. After becoming the empire's chancellor and taking charge of government, he vigorously rectified court affairs, clarified administrative matters, and appointed and dismissed officials.

He reported to Liu Zhiyuan, dismissed dozens of incompetent officials, and dealt with several others on charges of dereliction of duty. This thoroughly offended the Two Sus, especially Su Fengji.

During his tenure in government, he had done a pile of rotten things, one of which was "selling offices and titles." Before even entering Kaifeng, he had already promised away dozens of official positions of various sizes, and upon arriving at the Eastern Capital, he cashed them all in. Most of those Yang Bin dismissed were precisely these officials who had obtained their positions through bribery—highly targeted.

Already resentful over the encroachment on his power, Su Fengji was now even more enraged. He then began attacking Yang Bin's people with accusations. In this era, which official had a clean record? Including Yang Bin himself—he had done plenty of self-serving things with his power.

"This Su Yugui—in my impression, he was a kind and honest elder!" Liu Chengyou's mouth twitched.

"This kind and honest elder now owns considerable property inside and outside the Eastern Capital. But this man is also clever—knowing he can't win the fight, he simply doesn't fight. Two days ago, he even sent his household servants to relieve the refugees," Li Shaoyou said.

Glancing at Liu Chengyou, he continued: "As for this Su Fengji, Chancellor Su—he's bought up land and houses extensively. Never mind the Eastern Capital—I hear he's occupied four or five estates in the Western Capital alone, with over a hundred qing of farmland. If you want to buy him off now, Second Young Master, even bringing a hundred thousand cash to his door would probably only get you a meeting..."

After hearing Li Shaoyou's report, Liu Chengyou's expression was already one of utter despair.

"This is hardly the thriving atmosphere of an empire's founding—this is clearly an omen of national ruin!" After a long silence, Liu Chengyou suddenly said in a suppressed, angry voice, his eyes clearly flashing with murderous intent.

"Second Young Master, you mustn't say such things!" Although it was rare to see Liu Chengyou so agitated, Li Shaoyou was startled and quickly urged.

"Back in Hedong, all those civil and military officials still mocked the Khitan for not understanding our ways, saying they could never hold China for long. But look at what these Hedong heroes have accomplished—are they really any better than the Khitan?" Liu Chengyou's tone was laced with indignation. He wasn't usually so emotional, but he felt that his struggles in Hebei had somehow been unworthy of the effort...

"It's not all like that." At this moment, Li Shaoyou dared not meet Liu Chengyou's eyes directly, and said awkwardly: "Vice Commissioner Guo, for instance, has always kept his subordinates in check and served His Majesty diligently. He also distributes most of the imperial rewards to his troops to keep morale steady."

Hearing him bring up Guo Wei, Liu Chengyou's eyes narrowed involuntarily.

Li Shaoyou continued: "The situation lately is far better than before. Chaos—it shouldn't be able to stir up again. Autumn has already set in; just endure a little longer, and once the autumn harvest is done, everything will improve."

"Let's hope so!" Lifting the carriage curtain, Liu Chengyou gazed outside—the sky was high, the clouds vast.

As they talked, the city of Kaifeng came into view.