Chapter 64: Exercising Authority
Zhang Yi felt that his face, which had turned pale due to fright, was now turning red again due to the rush of blood.
Wait until the locust plague is quelled before apologizing to the emperor?
Regardless of whether the emperor would blame Yu Qiao Yan for his reckless behavior, he, as the governor, would definitely be severely punished.
Not only was he unable to adopt the far-sighted opinions from the counties below, but he was also attempted to seize power on the battlefield by Marquis Leping. This was simply an act that would lead to him being nailed to the pillar of shame.
In the Han Dynasty's martial virtue of "everyone from the emperor to others wears a sword", Qiao Yan's action should be praised by people, as it is a sign of righteousness and bravery.
Zhang Yi couldn't help but think, even if she was really going to be punished, how much would she be punished?
Zhang Yi had previously relied on the protection of the Yuan family of Runan, and seemed to follow Yuan Gong's lead. Now he finally started to use his brain.
If she had really suppressed the negative impact of the locust plague in Bingzhou when she seized power, then at least her merits and demerits would have been offset.
At this moment, he thought of an extremely terrifying fact—
The keel rollover mentioned by Qiao Yan was to complete the work of watering the dry fields in advance to prevent them from becoming places for locusts to lay eggs during a locust plague. This was undoubtedly an estimate of the disaster.
And the fact that she dared to leave Leping and come here at this time must mean that she had almost completed the preparatory work there.
Otherwise, what basis would she have to apologize?
If Qiao Yan knew what Zhang Yi was thinking at this moment, he would probably want to ask him how the situation today could have happened if he had such a thinking mind a few months ago.
For Zhang Yi today, perhaps the only thing that can make him feel comforted is that after he was tied up and "confined" to the provincial government, he immediately welcomed a neighbor, who was the prefect of Taiyuan County.
According to Qiao Yan's logic, the Taiyuan prefect's seat was also in Jinyang, which was too close to the provincial capital where Zhang Yi was located. She did not conceal her act of kicking the door at all. If the prefect quickly gathered troops to pose a threat to her, it would be better for her to take the initiative and tie up the prefect first.
It's the same whether you tie one or two.
Since she had already taken down the governor of the provincial capital, taking action against the governor of the next level was a typical case of having too much debt to worry about.
"I knew she would act wildly and rebellious... I knew it!" The Taiyuan governor was so angry that he trembled.
Before Shangdang Governor Guo started cooperating with Qiao Yan, he immediately thought of the previous blackmail as soon as he saw her. The same was true for the man from Taiyuan.
He originally thought that it would be best not to see her unless it was necessary, but who knew that this "meeting" was not a serious meeting, but a situation where she was kidnapped.
After all, he had stayed in Bingzhou longer than Zhang Yi, or he had more local experience than Zhang Yi. Therefore, when Chu Yan and Dian Wei led their men to take action, although he did not realize that Chu Yan was actually from the Black Mountain bandits and was the leader among them, he could see that most of these people were thieves or rangers.
This made him even more upset.
Just think about it and you will know that these people cannot possibly be the county officials of Leping County.
This is equivalent to removing Leping County itself in a way that says "Don't worry about whether you believe it or not, at least this is the case."
But what can these two brothers say now?
If she hoped that she would make mistakes in dealing with the locust plague, it would seem that she hoped that Bingzhou would not be well. If this were to be spread, she would be accused of not having a sense of loyalty to Bingzhou, on top of being subdued by incompetence.
In the end, he just called her "insolent".
But what if I'm being unbridled?
At least she was ready to issue the order to kill the locusts as she had promised to Governor Guo.
If she stamped this order with the seal she had snatched from Zhang Yi, it would represent the approval of the highest official in the state.
Qiao Yan asked Xi Zhicai to help write a letter of apology, while he himself had the time to think about his excuse for catching locusts.
This thing was for the governors of other counties to see, as well as for the people of Bingzhou to see.
On the one hand, she couldn't write too obscurely to avoid any misunderstandings. On the other hand, she needed to use straightforward enough words to dispel the people's concerns about killing locusts.
After all, other places in Bingzhou are not Leping.
So the first sentence that came out of her pen was "The crops on the fields are the life of the people. Once they are used up, the years will not end." 】
To put it simply, without land and food, we won't be able to get through the year. You can figure out what to do.
She then wrote:
Locusts are the king of insects and can cover the sky and the sun when they come. However, the many temples of the locust god in the state have not been able to reduce the locusts' rampage or make them bypass Bingzhou.
Before I came to Bingzhou, I even saw that the grass and trees in front of the Central Plains Locust God Temple were all destroyed. It can be seen that locusts have no human touch. Even if they are gods, they must be evil gods. In this case—
Grain crops are the foundation of people's livelihood. Even if there is a locust god above, they cannot be shaken.
The provincial government did not want to see Bingzhou suffer from famine while being surrounded by wolves, so it issued an edict to all counties to catch and kill locusts immediately without any mistakes.
[If there is any offense caused by killing the locust god, this fault shall be placed on one person in the prefecture, not on the common people below. 】
Dian Wei has been following Qiao Yan for more than a year now. Although he can never compare with someone as gifted as Xu Fu in terms of literacy, and he himself is somewhat averse to studying, he still has no problem reading the imperial edict written by Qiao Yan.
He couldn't help but ask, "The one that Qiao Hou wrote about was a person in the prefecture. The prefecture must be referring to Zhang Yi, right?"
Doesn't this mean that, although you didn't do the crime, you are still the first official of Bingzhou, so the retribution for offending the Locust God will also be upon you?
He looked at Qiao Yan with awe and deeply felt the ability of intellectuals to pass the buck.
"Why are you talking so much? Go and convey the order." Qiao Yan raised his eyelids and decisively assigned Dian Wei to go out.
There seems to be nothing wrong with the people under her at the moment. If you have to say something, it's that they all like to talk nonsense.
Cai Zhaoji is one, and Dian Wei is also one.
But how could she ask Zhang Yi to bear the blame for the karma? At most, Zhang Yi had to bear the due responsibility when he failed to prepare for the locust plague in advance.
However, Dian Wei had just walked out for a moment when he returned with the notice in his hand and said to Qiao Yan, "Wang Yang is here to see you, my Lord."
Qiao Yan did not bring Dian Wei with him when he came to Jinyang for the second time, but he brought him with him when he came to sell wine for the first time. Naturally, Dian Wei still had some impression of Wang Yang.
From Dian Wei's point of view, the old man looked worried when he came, and even looked like he was about to faint when he saw him. It seemed that he lacked the dignity of the head of the family.
Wang Yang looked at Dian Wei's expression and was able to guess what he was thinking at the moment. He straightened his face and then stepped into the house after getting Qiao Yan's permission.
It's really hard for him not to behave like this.
When he received the news that Qiao Yan led his men into the provincial capital where the governor was located, he had the illusion that he might have heard it wrongly.
There was no news from the state government after that, which made him speculate as to who had the upper hand.
If the provincial government gained the upper hand, Qiao Yan would only be asked to leave temporarily due to his status, and would not be captured directly.
His guess was further confirmed when he saw Dian Wei, who was alive and well and holding the notice.
But guessing it before was one thing, and now feeling almost black was another.
This is treason!
Even if the provincial government is not the royal family, this can still be called usurpation!
But this elder, who was feeling uneasy, was thinking whether coming here was a mistake and that he had walked into a trap. When he came to Qiao Yan and saw the successful usurper, he suddenly calmed down a little.
Qiao Yan's calmness is contagious.
The imperial edict that she had sent Dian Wei to post earlier was only for the city of Jinyang. Naturally, other states and counties needed to be rewritten. Therefore, what Wang Yang saw was Qiao Yan rewriting the notice that he had already memorized.
She sat upright in the position that should have belonged to Zhang Yi, and wrote quickly until the last word was finished. She then calmly placed the seal at hand on the book.
There was no panic or haste in this move as someone who usurped power. Instead, it gave Wang Yang an illusion.
It seemed as if she was destined to be in this position of governor.
So much so that when he saw Qiao Yan put down the seal and looked at him, he subconsciously stood up straighter, feeling quite nervous as if facing an inspection from his superior.
But he immediately thought that he shouldn't behave like this.
As a member of a noble family in Jinyang, now that he knew about this, he should have stopped this kind of meddling in other people's business.
However, before he could open his mouth to question, he heard Qiao Yan ask calmly, "Elder, don't you want to clear the people of Runan Yuan clan out of Bingzhou?"
"..." The words Wang Yang was about to say were stuck in his throat.
This is really too straightforward!
But as the head of a native family in Bingzhou, he certainly did not want to see Zhang Yi, as the outpost of the Yuan family of Runan, reaching out his claws of decentralization to Bingzhou.
Unfortunately, in the months after Qiao Yan pointed out Zhang Yi's identity to him, most of what Zhang Yi did was still external arrangements, leaving him no room to intervene.
Although he knew that Zhang Yi would surely gain fame if this succeeded, Wang Yang also knew that no matter how much internal strife there was, he must not make any foolish or hinderive moves in dealing with the problem of the foreign tribes in the north.
Of course, this is also the unanimous understanding of the vast majority of people within the Han Dynasty.
However, what he did not expect was that before Zhang Yi could achieve any results, a locust plague disrupted his plan. It also caused Qiao Yan, whom Wang Yang had originally wanted to further win over in order to exclude Zhang Yi, to cause a sudden change at an incredible speed.
He hesitated for a long time before asking, "My Lord, do you know that this matter is like walking on thin ice and may not lead to good results?"
What he said really came from his heart. After all, there are very few people who have the courage of Qiao Yan. Even Wang Yang couldn't help but admire her.
At this moment, he understood more deeply than ever why Qiao Yan was able to rise to prominence through the Yellow Turban Rebellion and carve out a future in the midst of the chaos.
Qiao Yan simply replied, "What is good fruit? Looking down upon the suffering of the people and providing relief from the locust plague, even if the crime is very serious, the merits should be offset. Besides, Qiao Yan does not really want to replace a provincial governor, and the central government will certainly not allow it. Since he only wants a peaceful year and peace for the people, why should he worry about not having good fruit?"
Her words seemed to be just grand, but Wang Yang heard some subtext in them.
As she said, the title of Marquis of Leping was the best she could get, and it would be difficult for her to go any further. Even when she was in charge of the people's livelihood management in Leping, she had to follow the procedures and first set up a Leping Prime Minister. Only through this position which was in line with the Han Dynasty's regulations could she issue government orders.
Although Liu Hong had appointed the post of Grand Historian to Ma Lun in Luoyang, the Grand Historian was not a position of real power after all. At least a position like the Governor of Bingzhou would never be given to Qiao Yan.
In that case, she might as well leave this position to the Bingzhou family to weigh.
Even though this position could not be directly held by a descendant of aristocratic family in Bingzhou because of the Three Mutuals Law, many aristocratic families had retainers and disciples, as well as people with strong connections, and they would always be able to choose a suitable candidate to build momentum for the position.
And can she benefit from this move? Yes!
One of them is the praise and gratitude of the people of Bingzhou.
This would undoubtedly turn her from Marquis of Leping, who was conferred the title here for no reason by the imperial court, into a county marquis recognized by more people in Bingzhou. Even though she had not revealed until now that the production of the mulberry leather coat was related to her, this reputation was enough for her to travel without worries in Bingzhou.
The second is the support and friendship of the Bingzhou families, which is undoubtedly extremely important at a time when the power of the families is deeply rooted and intertwined.
Besides, there were indeed some conflicts between her and the Yuan family of Runan.
This was confirmed in Wang Yang's previous investigation.
This also means expelling Zhang Yi from Bingzhou, which is also what Qiao Yan wants to see.
His breathing quickened a little. If it was as Qiao Yan said, this was like a hero's wine, and it was indeed a win-win deal.
This time, the relationship between the two sides was slightly changed, with Qiao Yan taking the lead and Wang supporting from the side.
After he figured it all out, a cheerful smile appeared on his face, and perhaps also a little ambition.
He immediately bowed and replied, "Marquis Qiao is a righteous man. If you can really put down the locust plague, it will be a great blessing for Bingzhou. Wang is willing to obey Marquis Qiao's orders and serve you at your service."
Qiao Yan smiled knowingly and replied, "Thank you very much."
With Wang's support, Qiao Yan's cleanup operation of catching and killing locusts and preventing them from breeding in this area would naturally proceed more smoothly.
One obvious situation is leadership.
After the notice for catching locusts was posted, Qiao Yan said that if the crops were gone, they would die, so it would be better to kill the locusts.
However, there is still some resistance in convincing the people who have regarded locusts as gods for decades that changes can indeed be made.
However, many aristocratic families in Taiyuan, under the leadership and guidance of the Wang family of Jinyang, responded to the governor's notice that "the fault lies with oneself", and those who had been waiting and hesitating before immediately followed suit.
The second directive from the state government pushed them even further.
Qiao Yan did not hesitate to implement the order to exchange locusts and insect eggs for food throughout Bingzhou.
The locusts that came from the three prefectures of Sili laid eggs in dry fields, and the hatching time was only 20 to 30 days.
If these newly born locusts are allowed to further spread the scale of the locust plague, it will be tantamount to an impending disaster for Bingzhou.
The ambitious Xiutuguhu and the two brothers Kuitou and Budugen in the north would never miss this opportunity to invade.
At this point, it is too late to overturn the keel or take actions such as diverting water for irrigation. The most important thing is to kill the insect eggs and passing adult insects.
Fortunately, the county granaries in Jinyang City are well stocked.
The 50,000 shi of grain that had been sent to Leping previously accounted for less than 10% of it.
It is more than enough to be used as an exchange for insect eggs.
If any county has food shortage, they can allocate food to each other at this time to ensure that the granaries have sufficient food.
The landfill and burning operations that followed plunged Bingzhou into a state of bustling activity.
With the government's order to kill the locusts with all its might, the people who were originally panicking because they found locust heralds in the fields now only had one thought in their minds -
They had to catch more locusts to exchange for enough food to make up for their losses.
Qiao Yan looked up into the sky.
Because locusts can fly at an altitude of thousands of meters during large-scale migration, a group of black spots still occasionally pass over the sky of Jinyang, but if they land, they will probably only fall into fish traps or earth pits.
Qiao Yan was really surprised when these Bingzhou people, who were famous for their military power, used their activi- ties to eliminate locusts.
Thinking of what she saw outside Jinyang City yesterday, she couldn't help but smile.
The system was initially shocked by her boldness, but now it is quite happy for her.
But before it could be happy for even a quarter of an hour, it heard Qiao Yan ask, "I am helping the emperor to eliminate local pests. Should this also be considered the work of a counselor?"
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