Chapter 1353: The Butcher Knife Swings

When Wang Yan's butcher knife swung, the wealthy, prominent families of Bingzhou truly had black clouds over their heads, truly facing a disaster of extinction.

Yang Liang's rebellion was a very good opportunity; the crime of rebellion was already at the limit, which made it very convenient to expand. Anyone who was involved could be handled if he wanted to.

The wealthy, prominent families were already deep-rooted, pulling out the radish and bringing out the mud; one arrest would bring out a whole large area.

Wang Yan had the army in hand, so he was afraid of nothing. Regardless of how big the family was, even the Li family of Gaoping was finished.

This Li family was a descendant of Li Ling of the Han Dynasty. Li Ling rebelled against the Great Han, and his descendants moved inland with the Wei, accumulating several hundred years to this day, and were truly the big brother-level family in Bingzhou.

Previously, when Yang Guang was here, he had dealings with the Li family. This time, Yang Liang rebelled, and the Li family, of course, didn't participate, but the side branches of their family were involved. So, based on the purpose of expansion and the instruction to firmly implement Yang Guang's crackdown on the wealthy, prominent families of Bingzhou, it naturally expanded to the main branch of the Li family.

The Li family couldn't escape, let alone other families. Every day, people were imprisoned, every day people were beheaded, every day mansions of wealthy, prominent families were raided, every day commoners received some land, and the industries, treasures, and materials raided were all massive.

For land and all kinds of things, Wang Yan, this temporary highest official, had the power to handle them.

From Yang Guang's accession to now, Wang Yan's position hadn't been adjusted. Perhaps to show trust, or perhaps to facilitate handling matters, after pacifying the rebellion, Yang Guang issued an edict at the first opportunity, letting him be the Minister of the Secretariat of the Bingzhou Branch, in overall charge of Bingzhou's military and political affairs.

The Minister of the Secretariat of the Branch was roughly equivalent to a branch of the Secretariat, with a complete configuration of the Secretariat, and could be fully responsible for local affairs, with military affairs added on top. In short, it was to let Wang Yan handle Bingzhou's affairs reasonably, legally, and efficiently.

However, Bingzhou's affairs were not just Bingzhou's affairs, but the world's affairs.

Wang Yan was too heartless; he truly killed people. However, Wang Yan didn't kill many people, but this was even more excessive. He sent people to Luoyang to do heavy labor, doing heavy and tiring work, and also allowed the supervisors to whip them, and they couldn't eat their fill or wear warm clothes. If the supervisors dared to accept requests from others, once caught, they would be companions with those judged as criminals by Wang Yan.

This was quite humiliating.

After all, they all had faces, power, and influence; just killing them would be fine, why torture them like this?

They thought this was torture, thought it was Wang Yan's rebellious revenge for being ostracized by wealthy, prominent families for a long time, and thought Wang Yan had become a crazy pervert. But they just didn't think about how they had harmed commoners before.

This was very normal; people didn't want to think about how they harmed others, only how others harmed them.

Wealthy, prominent families always let the people they bullied reflect, but they didn't reflect themselves; this was not good, very not good.

And so Wang Yan let them reflect, suffering their hearts and laboring their muscles, hoping they would have gains on the day they died of exhaustion.

As for the dog-legged followers of the big families, Wang Yan also had high hopes for them, sending them all to be companions with their masters...

It was also because of such a large-scale crackdown that wealthy, prominent families in other places were unwilling, and even the big families in the south who had always supported Yang Guang jumped up.

They didn't dare to scold Yang Guang, so they all scolded Wang Yan, scolding him to death. For a time, Wang Yan became a powerful official, a traitor, confusing the sage's heart, guilty of a crime that could not be pardoned, and all wanted to ask for Wang Yan's death.

To say this matter, Wang Yan actually did have some responsibility, because he could indeed have not expanded to such a large extent.

Except for those who had to die, those who could or could not be killed absolutely shouldn't be killed, and those who could or could not be arrested definitely shouldn't be arrested. As long as he got rid of some heavyweight ones to give Yang Guang an explanation, everyone would muddle through, the purpose of cracking down on Bingzhou's big families would be achieved, and Wang Yan wouldn't have offended too many people.

It was even possible that Yang Guang hadn't expected that Wang Yan would be so fierce when he truly started handling wealthy, prominent families.

Yang Guang also couldn't help but curse Wang Yan, the son of a dog, for telling him to do it slowly, but when he swung the knife, it was truly decisive, and he was a bit terrified.

And so, amidst the opposition of the big families and officials who understood that if the lips were gone, the teeth would be cold and were rarely united, Yang Guang also had to satisfy them by calling a halt to Wang Yan's actions in Bingzhou.

And he issued an edict to reprimand him, fined Wang Yan's salary, took away Wang Yan's military power, and still let him temporarily act as the Minister of the Secretariat of the Bingzhou Branch to wrap things up, which was considered an explanation to the big families and officials.

Relatively speaking, Yang Su's side was much more worry-free, but compared to Wang Yan's actions in Bingzhou, it also made Yang Guang very dissatisfied.

Yang Su's suppression of the rebellion didn't take much time either. The reason was roughly the same as in Bingzhou; without the support of big families, without them providing a large amount of manpower and material resources, and without the unity when doing big things, rebellion was not easy.

The big families in the territory were also sensible; they also mostly chose to wait and see.

Yang Su was indeed experienced in hundreds of battles. After fighting a few battles and breaking through several dangerous places, the large army entered the territory, and the advantage of the Shu region was danger. Once the danger was broken, Yang Xiu's rebellion naturally ended.

The choices of the big families in the territory were basically the same as those in Bingzhou; seeing that it was about to end, they came out to express their loyalty.

And at this time, Wang Yan had already started killing in Bingzhou.

Yang Su, of course, also had to handle the affairs of the territory. He bore the same responsibility as Wang Yan.

So Yang Su also cursed Wang Yan fiercely, because Wang Yan had done things to the extreme.

He didn't keep in line with Wang Yan, and Yang Guang would be dissatisfied with him. He kept in line with Wang Yan, and the big families would be dissatisfied with him. So he weighed it and finally decided to make both sides dissatisfied.

That is, on the basis of killing those who must be killed, he killed some who could or could not be killed, arrested those who could or could not be arrested, and learned from Wang Yan's operation to send the people who were packed up, as well as a large group of dog-legged followers, to build Luoyang.

This was an explanation to both sides, and he didn't do things to the extreme.

If Yang Guang blamed him, he, Yang Su, was from the Hongnong Yang clan, and it wasn't easy to reach this point. If the big families blamed him, he could push it to Wang Yan, blaming Wang Yan for setting the bar too high, saying he didn't want to make such a big deal, and asking if they wanted Wang Yan to come over and communicate with them?

And so he offended both sides, but it was within the range of tolerance. At the same time, he also received many benefits in the territory, which was a good situation for Yang Su that made everyone happy.

He also thought that he had made great contributions in the process of Yang Guang's accession and that he was still useful, so Yang Guang wouldn't say anything. If he really put Wang Yan in the position of Prime Minister, according to Wang Yan's style of doing things in Bingzhou, he didn't dare to imagine how spectacular the scene of the Great Sui being filled with smoke of war would be...

It was indeed as Yang Su thought; knowing that Yang Su was not a loyal and good official, and compared to Wang Yan, he was eight hundred li behind, Yang Guang was indeed not blaming him. But it was considered roughly achieving his purpose. In fact, what he originally wanted was for Wang Yan to do what Yang Su did, and it was enough. He didn't want Wang Yan to be too fierce, sweeping away more than half of Bingzhou's big families, raising his expectations, and making him look down on Yang Su.

However, Yang Guang didn't explode either. He had no time to pay attention to Yang Su now, but was busy carrying out various reforms.

For what his empire looked like, he had already had some thoughts in countless nights. There were many things he couldn't stand before, and he also felt that many things were unreasonable, so he had long thought about painting his empire.

Now that he had finally achieved his wish and sat firmly in his position, he was naturally impatient to adjust according to his own wishes.

For example, the plan to let big families bleed more and the country earn more money by increasing commercial taxes, which Wang Yan had proposed earlier, went through months of discussion, and finally produced a relatively perfect commercial tax plan based on different industries, different tax systems, and steps.

It was collected twice a year, once after the fifteenth of the first lunar month and once in July, paying taxes according to the numbers recorded in the account books. Faking account books, once verified, would be another story.

This was a good policy. The imperial court collected money and could spend it through various constructions. Yang Guang also appropriately listened to Wang Yan's suggestion and was willing to relax corvée labor and provide relaxed treatment to those serving, which greatly alleviated many contradictions.

At the same time, to collect taxes, there had to be people who could calculate and understand account books to execute it, which provided a large number of tax official positions. Wang Yan proposed giving these positions to scholars from humble backgrounds. Those who defected to big families could be handled, but for those who didn't, holding the power to collect taxes tightly was a knife fiercely cutting into the big families.

Tax officials who performed well could also have other appointments, which was a side opening of the upward channel. At the same time, it also pulled up scholars from humble backgrounds to confront wealthy, prominent families. Although they couldn't confront big families, their existence in the officialdom itself was already a very large force.

As for the salary and welfare problems of the many extra tax checkpoint positions, this was not a problem for the current Great Sui. Not to mention that these people were originally for collecting taxes, and taxes were new income; the Great Sui's current fiscal situation was extremely wealthy.

Maritime trade had developed for many years, and the things transported back from overseas were first scraped hard by the Shipping Department. All the wealthy, prominent families in the entire Great Sui had invested heavily. The power of these families combined was not as good as the national strength of the entire Great Sui, but outside of China, they were sweeping everywhere.

The wealth accumulated over so many years could also be called massive. With such an accumulation, as long as it was slowly transformed, the Great Sui could do many things.

For example, Yang Guang building Luoyang; what was missing was not money, but grain, and also unquantifiable people's strength.

So Wang Yan strongly suggested to Yang Guang not to be eager for success and to lengthen the time. Building a Luoyang City had huge gains. This construction of Luoyang could be completely said to be Yang Guang's experiment on the role of infrastructure.

He sent a large number of people to record the situation in all aspects for later research. Researching the principles in it, as well as the economic circulation that Wang Yan had long proposed.

Even if the group of officials opposed it, Yang Guang forcefully pushed through the increase in commercial taxes. He also learned to apply it flexibly, saying that whoever disagreed would be sent to their hometown to govern by Wang Yan. He also had a compromise with the group of officials, which was not to let Wang Yan be responsible for collecting commercial taxes.

And so this matter was pushed through.

It seemed that every leader of Wang Yan had passively mastered the skill of "releasing Wang Yan," and the key was that it was truly easy to use.

Wang Yan did nothing, but his existence was a big bug; no one could handle it...

Besides the implementation of commercial taxes, Yang Guang also began to build the Grand Canal. The excellent fiscal situation gave Yang Guang the confidence to squander. As long as the grain was sufficient and the construction period was lengthened so that the commoners wouldn't be tired to death, there would only be benefits and no harm.

Yang Guang also followed Wang Yan's proposal, but because of the construction of Luoyang, the Grand Canal was planned for the whole line but not started for the whole line, just choosing a small river section with a construction period of one year. Yang Guang wanted to grasp faster whether the things Wang Yan told him were reliable.

Other actions were just like those in history books. Yang Guang adjusted the administrative structure and also reorganized the army, changing the twelve prefectures into sixteen guards, and changing the General of the Agile Cavalry into the General of the Eagle.

At the same time, he also accepted Wang Yan's proposal to establish a purely military institution to manage the world's troops, command the world's wars, separate civil and military, and concentrate military power...

"I once said that when I ascend to the throne, I will allow you to be the Great Marshal of the World's Troops. You have made great contributions over the years, and you have even destroyed the Tujue. If it weren't for the fact that the late Emperor didn't allow it at the time, you would already be the Duke of Wu. However, times are different now, and I cannot decide in one word, so I will first allow you to be the Great Marshal of the World's Troops, reorganize it well, and in the future, destroy Goguryeo, and then I will advance your title."

Yang Guang's dog-like face had a kind smile, looking at Wang Yan, who was sitting cross-legged drinking tea and eating pastries on the side, all saying good things.

Wang Yan bowed his hands. "Whatever Your Majesty says, I will do; it all depends on Your Majesty's instructions."

"Good!"

Yang Guang clapped his hands happily. "Previously, you told me to separate military and political affairs. After discussion, there is already a clue. I have thought about it, and this position of managing the world's troops belongs to no one but you, Ziyan. Only you can make me trust you. And only you can suppress those arrogant soldiers and fierce generals and get this done."

"If it weren't for Your Majesty's trust and giving me the opportunity to stand out, there would be no me today." Wang Yan continued to flatter Yang Guang. "May I ask Your Majesty, what is the specific plan?"

"Some people have already been selected. You will know the plan when the time comes. Military affairs are established as a department. I name it the 'Shuji Fu' (Secretariat of Military Affairs). Ziyan, what do you think?"

"Managing military secrets, the hub of military affairs, simple and direct. Your Majesty is truly amazing; I still have to read books for eighty more years to have such literary talent as Your Majesty."

"Can you live for eighty more years?" Yang Guang laughed loudly happily. "You only know how to flatter. I haven't talked to you about what you did in Bingzhou yet."

"I also wanted to do things well for Your Majesty. With the army suppressing, who dares not to submit? I didn't expect these bird people to be so widely connected, actually stirring up such a huge momentum and wanting to kill me? Thanks to Your Majesty's full protection, if it weren't for that, I'm afraid my good head would have been sent in vain."

"You know it. You told me to do it slowly, but you were good; you swung your knife and killed. Be steady in your actions in the future, and don't be impatient."

"Yes, I will strictly follow the imperial edict. However, Your Majesty, these people are too bad; we must not let them have a good time. Instead of letting me manage the troops, why not let me collect commercial taxes? I'll pull out one family after another, and sooner or later, I'll send them all to corvée labor."

"At that time, the whole world will rebel; how will we, monarch and minister, handle ourselves? Better to manage the army well first, and then kill them later. Don't worry, I am in my prime and still have plenty of time. You and I, monarch and minister, work together, and sooner or later we will kill them all and not suffer their bird-like anger."

Yang Guang let out a long breath, obviously having suffered a lot of anger since ascending to the throne, and had accumulated a lot of resentment.

He waved his hand and then said, "The urgent matter is to reorganize military affairs, and wait a few years to sweep away the four barbarians. At that time, with the prestige of a great victory, let's see which family dares to chatter."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will definitely go through fire and water, and die without turning back."

"Die what die? If you die, who will do things for me? Go, go, it will be announced at the grand audience tomorrow. Do it well and don't let me down."

Wang Yan bowed his hands, bowed politely, and left...

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? (End of chapter)