Search on Alipay to receive red envelopes, and add one cent to recharge your account to Jin-Jiang. The people under Jiang planned the time very well. As soon as several ministers entered the Ziping Hall, the messenger was sent up.
Such important news naturally could not be explained in words. The postman took out the token and the memorial of apology from the prefect Tang Lichen and presented them to the people. Only then, under the questioning of the crowd, did he tell them what had happened in Ruizhou.
The cause of the incident was indeed the friction between the Han and Bai peoples.
The two ethnic groups live together, and their living habits and beliefs are quite different from each other, so conflicts are naturally a long-standing issue.
The Bai people are skilled in horseback riding, archery, and hunting, and possess considerable combat prowess. However, the local Han people of Ruizhou are equally fierce and ruthless, and will not give the other side an advantage. Consequently, friction has persisted over the years. However, because both sides are aware of each other's strength and desire long-term development, they have held back, preventing the situation from escalating.
In addition, the government has always been a smooth-talker in such matters. As long as they can live in peace, they don't care about anything else. Over time, there is a certain tacit understanding between them.
When to make trouble, how many people to send, and to what extent... these subordinates may not know, but the leader is sure to know. Occasionally, the two tribes will even work together to deal with and deceive the authorities.
At their peak, they had driven out three local officials, ranging from county magistrates to prefectural governors. One of the county magistrates even died in the area.
It was precisely because of the death of the county magistrate that things became difficult to control, and the court felt that it should curb the local customs in Ruizhou, so it sent capable officials like Tang Lichen there, hoping that he could bring some changes to the local area.
At that time, Tang Lichen's rank was not high enough to be in charge of a state. Liu Muchuan and the late emperor chose him against all odds, so his official position was the acting governor of Ruizhou. This was a compromise made by the court for an official with strong ability but low official rank, which shows the trust the court placed in him.
Tang Lichen lived up to this trust and quickly concluded Magistrate Zhang's case after arriving there. It turned out that the unfortunate magistrate had died in a brawl between two clans.
This matter is quite interesting. Hundreds of people from the two tribes gathered together to fight, but no one died on either side. Only County Magistrate Zhang was in trouble.
Although the local residents of Ruizhou were known for their rebellious nature and disregard for government officials, they understood the seriousness of the death of an imperial official. Therefore, they colluded to conceal the incident, reporting it as an accidental death.
Tang Lichen spent a lot of effort to divide and disintegrate the opponent's alliance from within, and only then did he figure out the whole story.
Because he had received the emperor's instructions in advance, in order to prevent him from being unable to control the local situation, the emperor even gave him the power to dispatch troops stationed nearby, so things went very smoothly. Tang Lichen not only arrested all the people involved in the case, but also found out the traitor who infiltrated the yamen and helped them cover up the matter, and dismissed him from his post for investigation.
This case should have caused a sensation, but it happened to coincide with the death of the previous emperor, so it was suppressed after it was reported and was later hastily concluded.
However, in the local area, the arrest of hundreds of people was no small matter. Furthermore, among those arrested were several of the most powerful criminals, who held high prestige in the local area. Consequently, after their imprisonment, people came to the government office daily to cause trouble. After the case was concluded, Tang Lichen detained the main culprits and released the others, but the situation did not improve.
Because the crime was capital, Tang Lichen, as the prefect, did not have the power to execute the criminal, so he waited for several months and received approval from the court, then began to transfer the criminal to the capital.
But as soon as the escort team left the city, they encountered an ambush. Someone robbed the prison van and rescued the prisoners. They also killed almost all the soldiers in charge of the escort. Only two people escaped.
Tang Lichen was furious and not only pursued the criminal, but also decided to punish these unruly people. Therefore, instead of distributing the rice for disaster relief this year, he required the people to work in exchange for food.
This order caused widespread resentment among the local residents, who were extremely dissatisfied. Some people deliberately instigated the uprising, which grew in intensity and eventually became a civil uprising.
The current situation in Ruizhou Prefecture was that impulsive citizens had surrounded the government office, nearly rushing in several times, but were fortunately stopped by military guards. Reinforcements, having received news of the situation, arrived and surrounded the entire prefecture, demanding that the rioters hand over their leaders and disperse, threatening to execute them as traitors.
The people in the city were naturally unwilling to compromise, so they threatened Tang Lichen and asked the government to let this incident go.
The three parties were now in a stalemate. However, this situation would not last long, as the government did not have enough food stored. Once it ran out, they would have to seek help from outside, and the situation would inevitably change.
Tang Lichen apologized in a memorial, blaming his own mishandling for the uprising. He offered no further explanation of his current situation, instead demanding the imperial court dispatch troops to suppress the situation with lightning speed, lest the unrest escalate into a rebellion.
The implication is that he has disregarded his own life and death.
Upon closer examination, Tang Lichen certainly did nothing wrong in this matter. Not only that, he should be credited with merit. After all, he successfully completed the task entrusted to him by the late emperor. But then, he let the prisoner escape, allowing the situation to escalate to its current state. Someone must be held accountable. Tang Lichen was a wise man, and he took the initiative to shoulder this responsibility.
The civil unrest must definitely be suppressed, but how should it be suppressed? Who should be sent? How many troops should be led? And what should be done when we get there?
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
