Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 394 Let the Heroes Investigate the Heroes

The ministers who followed Su Ze were also somewhat undecided.

It can be said that this kind of thing, except for a lord like Su Ze, no one else can discover it.

There are so many Zhechoufu, and a few people are missing from the war. Who else would care about such a "small matter" except Su Ze?
The promoted Captain Li did it in secret and there was no evidence at all. All the speculations of Su Dajia, the commander of the brigade, were based on his own opinion and there was no evidence at all.

It can even be said that Captain Li acted very cleverly. On the one hand, he embezzled the money deposited with him by the soldiers, and on the other hand, he was promoted based on his military merits.

But this matter was really flawless. The only crime he could be found guilty of was that he embezzled the belongings of the fallen soldiers.

No matter how Captain Li planned, he could not have imagined that Su Ze could find clues from the battle damage statistics of the Zhechongfu and get the real situation from his follower Su Dajia.

But if you think about it carefully, Captain Li's behavior is really destroying the foundation of the palace soldiers.

Su Liang first said:

"County Lord, if this is true, this man must be brought to justice!"

The foundation of any military system is people. The fundamental reason why the government soldiers could play a huge role in this era is that they fully mobilized people's enthusiasm.

Captain Li's behavior weakened the enthusiasm of the soldiers to join the army for his own selfish interests. If this continues, who would be willing to fight on the battlefield for Su Ze, the Duke of the County?
Su Ze was even more clear-headed about this. The system of military service in the Tang Dynasty was destroyed. The main reason was that the population growth made it impossible to grant enough land, and the secondary reason was the continuous decline in the treatment of soldiers. However, for their own military merits, the border generals constantly challenged the ethnic minorities on the border and started wars, which led to the soldiers of the Zhechongfu fighting outside all year round. The frequent wars destroyed the reward system for honorary officials and overwhelmed the imperial finances. In the end, the soldiers fought hard but did not get the rewards they deserved, and began to flee.

Of course, now that Su Ze is promoting the use of government soldiers, he has not encountered these two problems. Guanzhong has been in war for many years and there are more people than land.

Su Ze was relatively restrained towards the honorary officer system. The size of the government soldiers he had maintained was not large, and he was able to satisfy the rewards for the government soldiers. He also used the honorary officer system to turn the rewards into military titles, alleviating the pressure of one-time rewards.

But even though Su Ze tried so hard to maintain the Fubing system, there were still people who destroyed the Fubing system for their own benefit.

How could Su Ze not be angry?

But some people supported it, while others opposed it. Su Chao stood up and said:

"My Lord, it is common for soldiers to be killed or injured in battle. When General Hou reported on his work, didn't you forgive him?"

"From the statement of the commander of the Zhechong Brigade, it can only be said that Captain Li did not care for his subordinates and embezzled the deceased's property. His crime is not punishable by death. Please send someone to investigate before making a decision!"

Su Ze looked at Su Cho. Under Su Ze's gaze, Su Cho remained unshaken.

Su Ze certainly trusted Su Chao. As an important official in charge of the Council of State, he would not protect such a Captain Li.

Su Chao maintained the entire system of the county mansion.

The military achievements of Captain Li were examined by military judges, reported by Yang Kan, and finally approved by the Shogun's office.

The starting point of the Su brothers was public-spirited, but Su Liang started from the system of the government soldiers, so he wanted to use Captain Li to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, so that the government soldiers in Guanzhong could see the love that Su Ze, the county lord, had for them.

Su Chao, on the other hand, rejected Su Ze's attempt to undermine the existing system from the perspective of the administrative system.

Su Ze calmed down and continued:

"Is Su Wen (the cruel official who tells stories based on rumors) back?"

Wang Sizheng said quickly:

"Inspector Su has returned."

"Tell him to go to Yang Kan's army and investigate the matter of Lieutenant Li embezzling the inheritance of the fallen soldiers."

"only."

Su Chao finally breathed a sigh of relief, but he soon got a headache.

After Su Wen came back from Liangzhou, he became famous among many inspectors.

But unlike his colleague Su Wuming, Su Wuming pays more attention to evidence when handling cases and acts with courage and strategy.

But Su Wen is simply a cruel official who will use any means necessary to solve cases.

What Su Ze asked Su Wen to investigate was the case of Captain Li embezzling the inheritance of fallen soldiers. Using this as a breakthrough point to fabricate charges, Su Wen would definitely be able to take down this mere captain.

As a Confucian scholar, Su Cho naturally disliked these Legalist cruel officials, but sometimes cruel officials were more useful than clean officials to deal with those evildoers.

It can only be said that Su Ze's methods have become more and more sophisticated now. For many things, he only needs to arrange the right people to achieve the results he wants in a reasonable and legal manner.

Su Ze sent Su Wen to Yang Kan's army in order to make the matter an ironclad case and give these middle-level officers a warning.

But at least Su Ze was prepared to follow the procedure, so Su Chao said no more and retreated.

Next, Su Ze, accompanied by Su Dajia, inspected Zhechong Mansion and even sat down to talk with the soldiers in the mansion, asking about their family situations.

Su Ze called a young soldier over, looked at his timid appearance and asked:

"Can the family be granted land as ordered?"

The young soldier immediately said:
"The land was granted according to the number of acres specified in the Land Grant Order. The three leaders read the Land Grant Order door to door."

Su Ze nodded with satisfaction. This was the benefit of the three-chief system. The three chiefs in Xiazhou were basically wealthy families with clean backgrounds, or retired veterans who had made meritorious contributions. They had a certain degree of restraint with the local government. One of the ways the local government exploited the people was to take advantage of the information gap.

For example, Su Ze ordered a tax exemption or tax reduction for a certain county, but the local county magistrate withheld the news and still sent tax collectors to the countryside to collect taxes. The tax was then embezzled by the county magistrate, the people suffered losses, and the prestige of the county government was reduced.

But now all official documents concerning local people will be sent to the county's three chiefs, and they are required to read and explain the latest policies of the county's mansion to the people, so that county officials will not dare to act rashly.

In addition, villagers can gather together through the Zhechoufu to prevent local officials from going too far.

Of course, Su Ze also knew that the current clean and honest administration was due to the fact that this system had just been established.

These local chiefs and county officials are still in the stage of struggle and have not yet formed into interest groups. Moreover, the county government is still in its rising stage, and local officials are unwilling to sacrifice future opportunities for short-term interests.

But as long as this system continues to be implemented, the three leaders will gradually be corrupted by the big dye vat of officialdom.

Another reason for the collapse of the Fubing system in the Tang Dynasty was that the Zhechongfu, which was originally supposed to fight for the interests of the Fubing, eventually became an institution that exploited and oppressed the soldiers. Even during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, even the pensions that the court stipulated that the Zhechongfu should give to the dependents of Fubing after their death in battle would be swallowed up by the Zhechongfu. By that time, the Fubing system was beyond salvation.

Su Ze asked again:
“Can we plant trees at home?”

The young soldier immediately said, "My Lord, the mulberry trees we planted two years ago have grown, and this year we planted jujube and peach trees."

Su Ze was very satisfied, and he asked again:

"How many people are there in your family? Are they married?"

The young soldier said:
"I am the only son in my family of four. My grandfather died in the rebel war. My mother is still alive. I am married and have a younger sister who is about to get married."

Su Ze then asked Su Dajia beside him:

"According to the military service law, the only son in the family is exempt from conscription. Why did he join the army?"

This was also the condition that Su Ze set specifically when recruiting soldiers for the government office. If there was only one male member in the family, he would not be recruited.

In this era, if there is no male in the family, it is basically difficult to preserve the family property, and losing a single child means there will be no descendants.

Su Dajia was about to apologize, but the young soldier knelt down and said:

"It was I who insisted on joining the army."

"My family fled from the Six Garrisons to Xiazhou. It was only because the county lord gave us land that we were able to survive. We were able to marry a wife because of the land."

"My mother always told me to remember the kindness of the Duke of the County. After I became an adult, I asked the neighborhood chief for leniency and concealed the number of men in my family and joined the government army!"

After the young soldier finished speaking, all the ministers around Su Ze looked at him sideways. This is what people want!

In the past, when the Wei Dynasty recruited soldiers, everyone avoided it, and some even left their homes to avoid military service.

Now, in order to join the army, this young man concealed the status of his family members, and even his old mother encouraged this only son to die for Su Ze.

Su Ze looked at the young soldier and asked again:

"What's your name?"

"My original name was Hedoulingjin, but later I was given the Han surname Dou by the county lord. Now I am Doujin."

Su Ze nodded and looked carefully. He found that the young soldier indeed had Xianbei features. Hedouling was also a big Xianbei surname. Gao Huan's confidant Dou Tai actually had the surname Hedouling.

"Since you are willing to serve your country, I will allow you to join the army."

"Thank you for your grace, Lord!"

Su Ze said to Su Dajia again:
"As the commander of the Zhechong Brigade, I have committed the crime of negligence and shall be punished with five strokes of the cane."

Su Dajia said quickly:
"Thank you for your grace, Lord!"

Su Ze said again:
"The neighborhood head who guaranteed Dou Jin shall be dismissed from his position as neighborhood head."

Dou Jin wanted to beg for mercy for the two men, but when Su Ze became serious, he found that his whole body was shocked by his aura and he could not move, so he could only lie on the ground obediently.

Su Ze then asked Dou Jin:
"Has your sister reached adulthood? Is she married?"

Dou Jin then said tremblingly:
"I am an adult, but I have never been married."

Su Ze said to Su Dajia:
"Choose a man from the soldiers of the palace who is of marriageable age to marry Dou Jin's sister."

"In addition, Dou Jin's mother is wise and good at teaching. She can manage the family with loyalty and filial piety. Therefore, she is canonized as Madam."

At that time, there was no imperial edict system like that of the Ming and Qing dynasties. To be able to be canonized as a woman of the outer court, one had to be at least a fourth-rank official. The so-called Madam could not be considered a woman of the outer court, but only an honorary title.

For example, the famous Lady Xian in later generations was initially given the title "Lady", which was also an honorary title without rank.

But such an enthronement was enough in the village. Su Ze did this because Dou Jin answered appropriately and had a heart to serve the country, so he regarded him as buying bones for a huge sum of money.

At this moment, a messenger suddenly came to Zhechong Mansion and informed Su Ze of an important news.

(End of this chapter)