Dongyongzhou, Luoyang.

"Your Majesty, great joy!" Situ Liang said with a laugh, and walked in from outside with a smile on his face.

Zhao Xun put down the report in his hand and said with a smile: "Is Xuzhou taken by us?" ”

Situ Liang smiled: "It turns out that the king already knows that this is the case. The Chu army was annexed, and now it no longer exists, it has been conquered by our army, and it has been brought under the control of our Great Zhao. This is one step further from my Zhao country sweeping the world. ”

Zhao Xun was silent for a while, and sighed: "Yes, my big Zhao won and won the land of Xuzhou." After today, we have taken another of the states of the world. At the same time, the princes of the world are once again missing. ”

Situ Liang said in a deep voice: "The big waves wash the sand, some people rise and some people fall. The demise of the princes is also an inevitable trend. ”

Zhao Xun smiled faintly and said, "Okay, don't be emotional, this king has just received the good news from Li Huaiyuan and the return of the Eagle Eye Division." Although the Chu army in the land of Xuzhou has been taken by us, it does not mean that everything is all right in the land of Xuzhou. ”

"There is no more Chu army in the system, but the scattered Chu soldiers and soldiers, as well as some members of the Li clan who are afraid of being involved in themselves, are all active in various places, waiting for an opportunity to move. In addition, there are some mountain bandits and thieves who have risen because of the war, and they are also active in various parts of Xuzhou. ”

Situ Liang said unhurriedly: "We don't need to worry about the rout army and the absconders of the Li clan, the Li father and son are dead, and many of the rest of the Li clan have already surrendered to us." The rest are not qualified to represent the Chu army. Even if these people are active in various places, they are not qualified to call on the people of Xuzhou. Not to mention that the king is famous, in the land of Xuzhou, he is much stronger than Li Chi's father and son. The implementation of the new policy in Xuzhou, the king was exempted from taxes for three years, and the people of Xuzhou regarded the king as the holy lord. As for the Li family, they have long been thrown out of the clouds by the people of Xuzhou. ”

"And those mountain bandits and thieves need to spend some time and means to eliminate them, after all, they have a destabilizing impact on local rule and people's livelihood. But no matter what, none of these people are qualified to shake the king's rule in Xuzhou. However, Xuzhou does need to work hard to properly manage it. ”

Zhao Xun naturally understood the situation in Xuzhou, and also knew that the land of Xuzhou was already in his pocket, otherwise, he would not have smiled and talked to Situ Liang about things that were unfavorable to him.

"This king has given an order to Shangshu Province, ordering them to focus their attention on the recovery and development of Xuzhou in the near future, and to restore the livelihood of Xuzhou in the shortest possible time."

"The matter in Xuzhou is over, and the southern princes have not acted rashly, and our plan to garrison Luoyang and deter the southern princes is also perfectly completed." Zhao Xun said lightly, "During this year, I, the Zhao State, successively attacked Dongyongzhou and Xuzhou, defeated the Luo army and annexed the Chu army, and also consumed a lot. Situ Liang, this king appointed you as the former military governor, in charge of the defense line of Dongyongzhou, to defend the southern princes. Wait for our army to completely absorb the results of Xuzhou and Dongyongzhou, and then attack south. ”

"The king is assured, and the ministers are determined to collect the southern border for the king. The king arranged it like this, is he preparing to return to Youzhou City? Situ Liang asked with a surprised expression. Zhao Xun wanted to return to Youzhou City, but it was not planned in advance.

Zhao Xun said lightly: "The war is over, it's time to return to the division." In addition, Emperor Yan was in Youzhou City, and he did not attract the officials of my Zhao State, but attracted scholars from all over the country. These people ...... Hmph...... "Although he didn't say much, Zhao Xun's words revealed a killing atmosphere.

Situ Liang's heart tightened, Emperor Yan was not executed by Zhao Xun, but brought back to Youzhou City. Moreover, there are no strict restrictions on their freedom. Of course, this is also Zhao Xun's order to clean up internal hidden dangers. Situ Liang is very clear about this. According to Zhao Xun, I am afraid that some people will suffer. is involved with the declining emperor of the previous dynasty, how can there be any good results?

Maybe it is a fact that Zhao has replaced Great Yan, or maybe the officials of Zhao State understand the source of their interests, and no one in Zhao State has any connection with Emperor Yan, at least, the central officials of Zhao State and the local government officials in Youzhou City have no connection with Emperor Yan. However, some of the scholars who moved to Youzhou City because of the wars in various places or because the Zhao State was getting stronger and stronger, some of them had contact with Emperor Yan, and even formed some small organizations.

Regardless of whether these people were intentional or unintentional, whether these people were active or tempted or instructed by others, Zhao Xun had no intention of letting it go. To treat these people, Zhao Xun could only use blood to warn them.

After Zhao Xun handed over the affairs of Dongyongzhou to Situ Liang, he led the army back to the division and returned to Youzhou City.

Because the Zhao army is getting stronger and stronger, the territory of Zhao is getting wider and more stable, and more and more people are gathering in Youzhou City, the capital of Zhao State. And also because of Zhao Guo's policy. Commerce around Youzhou City is also very prosperous. In the past few months, because of the great victory in the battle of Dongyongzhou and the victory in the war of Xuzhou, the entire Youzhou City, and even the entire Zhao State, are full of laughter and laughter. The stronger the Zhao State, the more the people naturally feel that their current happy and stable life can last longer.

Because the policy within the territory of Zhao was very different from that of other princes, and even from Great Yan. Especially in the government, there is a system in which scholars can become officials in a variety of occupations. Moreover, if you want to let either party go and hold real power, you must have the corresponding professional knowledge. Not to mention, it is an official of the household department, and the various calculations of the numbers and the use of financial statements that must be moved by Zhao Xun are very different from the simple study of the past as an official. The scholars in the Zhao Kingdom are okay, but those who come from other princes' lands or from Dongyongzhou and Xuzhou are a little unacceptable. In particular, there are many scholars in the south, among which the more famous scholars and Confucians also come from the southern states.

Therefore, after these people found out that some of the systems of Zhao State were simply contrary to common sense, they expressed great dissatisfaction, and even directly in front of the government, they surrounded and protested, which made the central departments of Zhao State extremely dissatisfied. But because these people were scholars, they did not fight by force, let alone break the law, so they were not arrested by the government. And the problem of scholars is also a headache for the imperial courts of previous dynasties. Without a perfect reason, how can you easily attack them?

However, for Zhao Xun, he will not look at who the other party is. With the passage of time, the current Zhao Xun is no longer the Zhao Xun who originally traveled to the northern land. The current Zhao Xun is the monarch of Zhao State, the commander of hundreds of thousands of troops, and the master of the northern land. Some places that I didn't care about and were difficult to make decisions about before are now doing it without any discomfort at all.

Before Zhao Xun returned to Youzhou City, he was assassinated. Subsequently, the Land of Youzhou began to track down the Assassins. Immediately, the Shadow Division, the Eagle Eye Division, and the Security Division all dispatched one after another.

The assassination of King Zhao, although there was no accident, but it also shook Zhao Guo. Zhao Guo was trembling. However, not long after, someone secretly reported to the Imperial Procuratorate, saying that some scholars and merchants from the south and some southern princes had joined forces to disadvantage King Zhao.

As soon as the roster came out, countless people in the land of Youzhou, especially in Youzhou City, were arrested. In addition to some officials of the Zhao State, there were many scholars and some businessmen. They were all involved in the assassination of King Zhao.

At the same time that Youzhou City began to arrest these major assassination cases, Zhao Xun had successfully returned to Youzhou City. Of course, Zhao Xun did not have any damage, and the assassination he committed was just Zhao Xun secretly letting people act. Zhao Xun, who returned to Youzhou City, was immediately visited by officials from various ministries and asked how to deal with the arrested people. In fact, many people were not associated with the assassination. I am afraid that the only ones who have something to do with the assassination case are those who have a relationship with Emperor Yan and are dissatisfied with the current system of Zhao State. Of course, this relationship is not based on real evidence, but is speculated from a certain aspect.

"Your Majesty, many people have been arrested this time, but most of them are not related to the assassination, especially many of them, many of them have more or less slightest connection with the officials of various ministries, isn't it ......?"

Pei Yi, who listened to Zhao Xun, said this, and said lightly: "It has nothing to do with the assassination, but what about the others?" Isn't there a single violation of the law in what they do? The Shadow Division and the Eagle Eye Division will definitely not take them down for no reason. In addition, as far as the king knows, these people are more or less guilty of violating the law. In this case, even if there is no real evidence to be involved in the assassination case, then it should be dealt with according to the crime he committed. ”

"All officials who have connections with these guilty businessmen are demoted and retained. They participate in the Chamber of Commerce, and this king has no objection, but it is absolutely not allowed to act as a protector for the Chamber of Commerce where they are located, so that they can ignore the existence of the law of my Great Zhao. As for those who seek personal gain for the Chamber of Commerce, they will be dismissed and will never be recalled. ”

Zhao Xun arrested these merchants in order to beat the officials of various ministries in the city. Although there are not a large number of officials who have too deep ties with businessmen, Zhao Xun cannot but take precautions.

Pei Yi's heart tightened, and he naturally understood Zhao Xun's purpose, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, what about those chambers of commerce?" ”

"Chamber of Commerce? They don't do it well, but they want to profit from my Dazhao officials. If the family property is confiscated, he will never be qualified to do business. Zhao Xun said coldly.

"What about the readers?" Pei Yi asked in a deep voice.

"What do you think?" Zhao Xun asked the central officials of the three provinces lightly.

Pei Yi saw that everyone else was speechless, so he had no choice but to say: "Great King, these scholars are all from other princes' jurisdictions, although they are not from my Zhao country, they should have nothing to do with the southern princes. Most of them are people who are dissatisfied with the status quo of other princes and have come to my Zhao Kingdom to study and seek officials. The assassination of the king, such an evil thing, should have nothing to do with these scholars. ”

After a pause, Pei Yi said again: "Scholars are the source of state officials, and they are also the pillars of governing the country. Because we have arrested a lot of scholars, and now, the scholars in the city and even everywhere have begun to be dissatisfied with this move, and even began to protest in front of the local government offices. ”

Zhao Xun glanced at everyone lightly, and he understood that Pei Yi was an orthodox Confucian scholar, and it was still a little difficult to understand how to arrest a scholar who had no real evidence.

"Then according to Pei Qing's meaning, you want to let them go?" Zhao Xun said flatly, "Then what do the other secretaries have?" ”

From Zhao Xun's flat tone, Lu Ziliang felt Zhao Xun's dissatisfaction. Lu Ziliang also understood that these scholars did not have the ability to assassinate King Zhao who was under the protection of nearly 10,000 personal guards. But Lu Ziliang also knew that these scholars were dissatisfied with the official selection system of Zhao State, and even compared with Great Yan, Zhao State often had a faint connection with Emperor Yan. This time, Zhao Xun turned back, did not directly report to the center, arrested the assassination case, and did not edict the Criminal Department and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but directly let the three divisions of the secret guards take action, which also shows that King Zhao wants to rectify Youzhou City this time.

The businessmen and those officials who started before, Lu Ziliang understood that King Zhao really wanted to move those restless people in Youzhou City this time.

Seeing Zhao Xun asking like this, Lu Ziliang naturally understood what his monarch meant, so he spoke up: "Back to the king, the minister thinks that these scholars not only cannot release them, but must be dealt with strictly. ”

"Oh? Let's talk about it! Zhao Xun said with a smile.

Seeing King Zhao say this, Lu Zi's conscience was slightly relieved, and he said in a deep voice: "These scholars don't understand the policies of my Zhao State, but they are messing around and wantonly expressing their opposition to our Zhao State system. It had a very bad impact on the rule of Zhao Guo, and even some officials who were born as merchants and craftsmen also had many problems with Confucian scholars and orthodox scholars. These scholars do not want to change their views, but they blindly blame the government, not only are they not the pillars of our Zhao country's governance of the place, but they greatly affect the stability of our Zhao country's governance of the place. ”

"Also, because we have captured some readers, there are so many problems right now. If we ignore it and give in, in the future, we don't know what kind of impact these scholars will have on our government. Could it be that I, Zhao Guo, still have to give in to some scholars who are not at odds with us? ”

"Well said!" Zhao Xun said in a loud voice, "A group of idle people who only know how to study to death dare to criticize the imperial court, and dare to protest against the behavior of the government. The policy system of my Zhao State is different from that of other princes, and it is also different from that of Dayan. This king wants them to know that now, this is Da Zhao, not Da Yan. ”

"Dissatisfied with my big Zhao, and even formed a small organization to refute my Zhao system? even played the banner of Da Yan and Emperor Yan, what are they going to do? Summoned an order for the Criminal Department to strictly investigate them and punish them severely. ”

"Yang Wangzhen, Zhongshu Province ordered the local government to remove all the scholars who gathered in front of the government for no reason to make trouble, and all their fame and fame will be removed. In addition, the edict decrees that from now on, all my Dazhao officials will be given priority to be selected from the Dazhao Royal Academy, and all state officials and central officials must come from the Royal Academy or must enter the Royal Academy to study before they can continue to rise. Zhao Xun ordered coldly.

Zhao Xun's move directly restricted the future of scholars everywhere. If you want to be an official in Zhao State, you must follow the policies and systems of Zhao State, otherwise, you will always be just a scholar. In addition, if you want to be the governor of a prefecture and the official positions on it, you must enter the Royal Academy. Otherwise, you can only be a small official, and the top of the sky is the county order.

"In addition, any official who is promoted must wait for a short period of time to study at the Royal Academy. From now on, the Royal Academy will be divided into two parts, one part is the place for officials to study, and the other part is the place for scholars to study. ”

Zhao Xun did this in order to control these officials. He did not want these officials to form a huge network of influence with the central officials in order to be promoted, and now he collected the promotions and transfer appointments of these officials in his own hands, and kept them on a par with the central land.

Although many officials believe that King Zhao's move has reduced the power of the ministries, especially the officials, a lot, Zhao Xun is directly passing on the order at the moment, rather than discussing with everyone, so they can only suppress the worries in their hearts.

More than 100 scholars were implicated in the assassination case and were killed, which immediately surprised readers all over the Zhao Kingdom, and many people were dissatisfied. However, the edict issued by Zhao State immediately afterwards was a fatal blow to these scholars. What are they dissatisfied, protesting, all for? It's not for their own future. But now, their future depends on their next move, how dare they act rashly?

Trouble? Protest? That is, never to tell the eternity, and there is no future. If you want to be an official, you must follow Zhao Jun's system, and you must accept Zhao Jun's policies. Whether to continue to express dissatisfaction or accept Zhao Jun's system and conform to Zhao Jun's policies is the reluctant choice of all scholars who come from the south and who are dissatisfied with Zhao's system.

Even though some scholars are still dissatisfied with the current behavior of the Zhao State Government, there is no longer such a situation as in the past. In the face of the future, nothing else matters. Even if they didn't study at the Royal Academy, although they hadn't gone to the Zhao Imperial Examination. However, even if the state is successful in education, he is qualified to become a local official, and then he has the possibility of being promoted and becoming a government-level official. But if all their fame is removed by Zhao Jun, then there will be nothing, and their hard work for so many years will be in vain. These readers naturally know the pros and cons very well.

In addition to these scholars who were ruthlessly cleaned up by Zhao Xun, many officials and businessmen were also unlucky in this investigation of the assassination. Although they were not related to the assassination, because of the problems between these officials and businessmen, many officials were also imprisoned, and many businessmen were ruined. It was also this change that shocked many officials and businessmen and changed some of their past problems.

In addition, many people also see that King Zhao's assassination is only fake, and King Zhao wants to use this move to solve some problems is real. Many scholars in Youzhou City were implicated in the crime of assassination and rebellion and were killed, and they all had one thing in common, in addition to being dissatisfied with the system of the Zhao State, they also mentioned Da Yan and Emperor Yan many times.