Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

"What to do? What to do now?"

In the Zhen Mansion in Yecheng, Zhen Yan paced back and forth in the living room very anxiously. He never expected that Gongsun Zan, with the support of the entire Jizhou aristocratic families and powerful people, would be defeated and defeated miserably. Now not only Zhongshan and Changshan would return to Lu Bu's rule, but even other counties and Qingzhou in Jizhou would fall into Lu Bu's hands.

Although his Zhen family did not openly rebel against Lu, he did not inform the Zhongshan families when they rebelled before, and later wanted to threaten Lu Bu with food and supplies to take his own sister. These actions would make Lu Bu hate him more than those of a family that had directly betrayed him.

Zhen Yan was thinking so much that his mouth was bubbling, his eyes were red and his lips were cracked, but there was nothing he could do. He had thought of going to Zhen Rong and Wang Ding to plead for mercy, but when he thought about how Wang Ding had protected Princess Tang because of the food issue, he thought that he had done his best by not divorcing his own sister.

He also thought about escaping from Jizhou, but this method was even more unrealistic. Eighty percent of his Zhen family's assets were in Jizhou. People could escape, but the assets could not.

"For now, the only solution is to spend money to avoid disaster!"

Madam Zhen leaned on her cane and sat in a reclining chair, sighing heavily. "It's all my fault that I was blinded by that obsession. Now that we've fallen into this state, it's too late to regret!"

Zhen Yan smiled bitterly, "Jizhou is now like meat on the chopping board, helpless to be slaughtered by Lü Bu at will. Even if we lose money, it may not be able to avert the disaster!"

Madam Zhen said, "Although our Zhen family has gone a bit too far, we haven't caused him any trouble. Let Rong'er go and plead for mercy. The princess is kind and won't make things too difficult for him."

"Kind?" Zhen Yan's face was filled with pain. "I used to think she was easy to talk to. Back in Yecheng, I offered Mi'er to Lü Bu, and not only did she not refuse, she didn't even show the slightest displeasure. Later, I realized this woman is a smiling tiger. She looks harmless on the surface, but in fact she is cruel and ruthless. She wants to fight against all the powerful families in the world, exterminate the big families, restrict land annexation, and promote the children of the poor and common people. To implement her ideals, she even suppressed the power of her mother's family. None of her three brothers hold high positions in the Tang Dynasty, and her two cousins ​​only became prefects because of their outstanding talents, but no member of the Wang family has ever been given military power. She is absolutely ruthless!"

He sighed, "This time, Jizhou was in rebellion, and the Tang Kingdom was out of food. My son thought they had no chance of retaking Jizhou. Who could have imagined she would be able to collect so much food from the people? The outcome of the battle outside of Dingtao City was even more surprising than I thought. The fact that this couple was able to turn the tide in such a difficult situation is truly destiny! Now, it's only a matter of time before the aristocratic families in all the counties and prefectures of Jizhou are liquidated."

Madam Zhen pondered and said, "If spending money to ward off disaster is truly impossible, why not unite all the families and raise an army? Jizhou's many aristocratic families and powerful troops combined must have at least 200,000 to 300,000 soldiers. I don't believe we can't defeat them."

"My God, you think too simply. After Lü Bu annexed Gongsun Zan's surrendered soldiers, Jizhou now has over a hundred thousand troops. They are all regular troops. Let alone 200,000 or 300,000 troops, there is no way they can gather together. Even if they did, your 500,000 troops would not be able to defeat his 50,000 soldiers. Besides, many of them are probably ready to surrender to him!"

Madam Zhen asked in confusion, "Lü Bu wanted to eliminate them, and they still surrendered?"

Zhen Yan spread his hands, "What else can we do? Surrendering might save the lives of our families. If we don't surrender and the city is breached, our entire clan will be exterminated. Just think about what happened to the Hanoi nobles."

Hearing that the entire clan was massacred, Madam Zhen was so frightened that her hands and feet trembled, and she asked in panic, "Then, what should our family do?"

Zhen Yan said, "Surrender first. You can only let him be dealt with later. If not, I will give my life to him to appease him."

Old Madam Zhen opened her mouth but said nothing more. Zhen Yan was not her biological son, and there were many male descendants in the Zhen family. If his death could save the family, it would be a worthy death!

In the past few days, it was not just the Zhen family in Jizhou who didn't know what to do. Many families were caught in a dilemma. Some wanted to surrender, some wanted to resist, and some simply packed up their money and fled Jizhou with their families and followers.

Those who were close to Youzhou fled to Youzhou, and those who were close to Yanzhou fled to Yanzhou. After discussion, Zhang Mo and others unanimously agreed that these people should not be allowed to join other forces, otherwise the Tang army would encounter stubborn resistance from them in the future.

Except for Zhongshan State, where the Tang army has no way to stop them for the time being, troops are stationed on the main roads in other places such as Weijun, Qinghe State and the border of Yanzhou. Any family that wants to escape will be killed once they are discovered!

After more than a dozen families were massacred, those who originally wanted to escape no longer dared to do so. Some people tried every means to establish relationships with Tang officials and ask for help and plead for mercy. However, those who could serve as officials in the Tang Dynasty knew very well that anyone who had anything to do with these rebels at this time would be seeking death. Some people even divorced their wives and sons-in-law in order to sever ties with them. The divorce rate in Jizhou soared within a few days.

"Princess, do you really want to slaughter all the rebels?"

At the prefectural mansion of Taocheng County, Ju Su, who had hurried over from Wei County to pay a visit, asked cautiously, and his tone clearly showed that he disapproved of the massacre.

"Gong Yu wants to plead for them?"

Zhang Mo asked back, her tone neither hurried nor slow, neither angry nor irritated. Ju Su couldn't guess her thoughts, so he could only bite the bullet and bow his hands to confess his guilt. "Princess, please understand. I'm not soft-hearted or sympathetic to those people. It's just that the law doesn't punish everyone. This time, almost all the major families in Jizhou have rebelled, and the families are so interconnected. The network is huge. If we rely on killing, we'll have to kill nearly 30% of Jizhou's population. This... is truly inappropriate."

In the city of Dingtao alone, more than 10,000 people were killed yesterday. There are so many large cities in Jizhou that if the killing continues, 300,000 to 400,000 people will be wiped out.

"What do you think?"

She still had no expression on her face as she looked at the other people sitting there.

Lu Bu said coldly, "Kill them if you dare. If you dare to rebel, you should think about the consequences! If you don't punish them, everyone will dare to rebel in the future!"

Tian Feng said, "They should be punished, but it is inappropriate to continue to slaughter people like in Dintao City. If Your Majesty continues to kill people like this, it will be no different from Cao Mengde's massacre of Xuzhou City."

"What's the difference? What do you think?" Lu Bu's expression became increasingly cold.

Knowing that Lü Bu was unhappy, Tian Feng still insisted on his own opinion, "Your Majesty, if you do this, you will kill more people than Cao Mengde did when he massacred the city. This is not the same as..."

"Wonho!"

Seeing his old friend about to say something unpleasant again, Ju Su quickly interrupted him, "Xuzhou was invaded by Cao Mengde, while my Jizhou is under the combined influence of external enemies and internal thieves. How can they be the same?"

He didn't give Tian Feng a chance to speak, and continued, "The reason why I and your ministers disagree with the massacre is entirely for the sake of our Tang Kingdom. Currently, only some cities in Jizhou are relatively stable. In other places, the clan bandits are defending themselves. If Your Majesty really kills them as you did in Dian Tao, they will definitely fight to the death to save their lives. If Your Majesty wants to completely pacify Jizhou, you must attack and take it down city by city. With the military strength of the Tang Kingdom, it will be no problem to take them down. However, how much manpower and financial resources will be consumed during this period, and how many people will be delayed from farming? This is truly a lose-lose approach!"

This was also the reason why Xun Chen, Chen Gong and others opposed forcing everyone to rebel. Lü Bu's expression calmed down and he asked, "Then, Gong Yu, what do you think should be the punishment?"

Ju Su said, "Why not let him wait until he loses money to avoid disaster? Just open the city and surrender, each family will contribute some land and money, then disband some of the troops and punish the individual leaders."

"How much money should I offer to the Caibuqu?"

Ju Su thought for a moment and said, "Half!"

"The cost of rebellion is too low!" Xu Shu sneered. "If it were me, I would rebel again the next time I had the chance. After all, I only need to give away half of my wealth. My foundation remains intact. In a few years, I will have recovered all my lost land, money, and troops. What's there to be afraid of?"

"It's really too low!" Zhang Mo pondered, "A penalty like this is almost the same as no penalty at all!"

Ju Su quickly asked, "So it's 70%?"

She still shook her head, "I can spare his life, but just giving him money won't do. I need to meet three conditions!"

Everyone looked at her, and Zhang Mo slowly said, "First, split up the family. All those who are more than three generations related by blood will be separated and registered separately. Abolish the family rules and only respect the Tang laws."

"Secondly, all retainers, followers, and tenant farmers will be dismissed. Each household may retain no more than twenty servants, and only enough land and housing for their families to live on. The rest will be nationalized for redistribution. As for the remaining property, a small portion may be retained as appropriate."

"Third, those who participated in the rebellion the earliest will be banned from participating in the selection of Tang officials for three generations, starting from the generation of the head of the family!"

After hearing this, everyone sighed in their hearts, this is a truly ruthless person! With just three simple points, he reduced a huge and powerful family to a small wealthy family, and even restricted their children from joining the government. After three generations, the policies and laws of the Tang Dynasty were deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Even if someone wanted to make trouble, they couldn't do it. The aristocratic families and powerful people in Jizhou were truly uprooted.

Ju Su said with some embarrassment, "This punishment is too severe. I'm afraid most people won't agree!"

"It doesn't matter if you don't agree, I'll kill you until you agree!"

Her eyes grew cold. "The Tang Empire has poured all its might into pacifying Jizhou. Now that the external enemy has been eliminated, if we fail to address the root causes of the internal rebellion, leaving hidden dangers and the possibility of another war, how can we be worthy of the people of Bingzhou and Sizhou who have saved money to support our army, and the soldiers who died on the battlefield? Having come all this way, am I still afraid of killing people?"

Seeing her anger, everyone fell silent! If it weren't for the people's full support, the Tang Kingdom would have no way of retaking Jizhou this time, and might not even be able to resist Gongsun Zan's advance into Bingzhou. It's no exaggeration to say that this would be a disaster for the country's destruction. If she wasn't dealt with thoroughly, there was really no way to quell her anger!

In fact, they feared her more than the king. Although the king was fierce in battle, he was simple-minded, easy to talk to, and didn't know how to handle government affairs. On the contrary, as long as the princess insisted on something, it would be difficult to persuade her without very sufficient reasons. Moreover, she had her own set of strategies for governing the country in her mind, and they could only help to improve the details.

Zhang Mo paused for a moment, her tone calming as she continued, "One reason I insisted on punishing those people was that I didn't want to leave any hidden dangers, but the main reason was that I wanted to turn Jizhou into a place like Bingzhou and Henei, where the people are the main force, rather than the aristocratic families and powerful forces. You've seen what happened this time. Whenever there's an order from above that makes them dissatisfied, they dare and have the ability to rebel. The world I want to conquer is a world for the people, not a world for the aristocratic families and powerful forces. You should all be clear about this. Therefore, there's no room for negotiation on this matter. You can only choose one: life or money."

Life or money? Hearing her domineering and somewhat ruffian words, Xu Shu smiled silently, unconsciously thinking of himself as a ranger in Yangdi.

He was the first to stand up and shout, "Princess, you are wise!"

Jia Xu, Xu You, Pang Tong, Shi Tao, Zhuge Liang, and Sima Yi all chimed in, "We support the princess!"

Lu Bu shook her hand at the table, indicating that the Tang army would also fully support her!

Guo Tu wanted to object, but looking at Ju Shou and the others, while they didn't actively express their support, their expressions clearly showed that they didn't oppose. He could only swallow his words. During this period of time, he had come to understand that many decisions in the Tang Dynasty were ultimately made by the princess, and opposition was basically futile. This woman was determined to centralize power! The key was that her mind was still clear and her mind was very firm. It was impossible to fool her!

Guo Tu then asked, "Does the princess really intend to pacify the city and county one by one?"

Zhang Mo laughed and said, "How is that possible? Let's pass these decrees down first. Those who agree can resolve it peacefully, and those who disagree..."

She paused and said to Ju Su, "From the day you receive the decree, you have two days to express your position. Anyone who fails to respond will be treated as disagreeing and will be killed without mercy!"

She looked at Lu Bu and said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to rush to send troops to attack these stubborn resistance. You can first march to the city gates and then issue a second decree to the city. Any slaves, followers, captives, and tenant farmers who wish to become good citizens, as long as they assist the Tang army in breaking the city, will not be held accountable for their previous crimes of following the rebellion. All of them can be restored to good citizen status, given sufficient land, and required to pay taxes according to the new tax law. Families with special difficulties can also be given certain subsidies at their discretion. When our Tang army enters the city, we will not massacre civilians!"

"Princess, your approach to the masses is brilliant! Following this method, I predict that all the counties in Jizhou can be pacified quickly without any soldiers!" Jia Xu exclaimed.

Ju Su and Tian Feng were speechless now. She gave everyone a chance to survive, it depends on whether you know what is good for you. If it were not for the current lack of national strength and the unwillingness to start a war, she would really teach the rebels a bloody lesson like she did to Hanoi!

"Then... after this incident, how will Jizhou's officials at all levels be replenished?"

Ju Su asked the most difficult question at present. According to the third condition proposed by Zhang Mo, the three generations of the families who rebelled first would not be allowed to hold official positions, and the current positions of others would definitely be dismissed. Then the officialdom in Jizhou would be almost empty.

Zhang Mo had considered this problem before. In addition to suppressing most of the nobles and powerful people, she also had to promote some of them. Otherwise, not only would the institutions in Jizhou be paralyzed, but some of the people present would also become alienated from the Tang Dynasty. If she continued to suppress them, the Tang Dynasty would be met with resolute resistance from all the nobles and powerful people when it wanted to invade other states and counties in the future. So, while she could suppress them, she also had to give them the benefits and hope they deserved.

"First, transfer some officials from Bingzhou and Sizhou to serve as county magistrates. Then, select talented young men from families that did not rebel and send them to Bingzhou and Sizhou to replace these transferred officials. For grassroots personnel, transfer some students from Bingzhou Academy to serve as interns. As for the prefects of each county, Wenhe, Yuanhao, Xiaozhi, Yuanzhi, Gongtai and others will serve concurrently. Young men like Shiyuan and Kongming will also be sent down to serve as clerks this time. I will arrange their specific positions later."

As she spoke, she pulled out a piece of paper from her desk file bag. "I've compiled the list of officials to be transferred from Bing and Si provinces these days! As for selecting new officials, I'll leave it to Gong Yu, Ji Gui, and Zi Yuan!"

"Yes!"

Ju Su and Xu You accepted the offer, but Cui Yan declined, saying, "I will not be involved in this matter!"

After this great purge, the largest family in Jizhou was the Cui family. The Cui family had many children, and Cui Yan was obviously trying to avoid suspicion by saying this!

Zhang Mo said, "Ji Gui, there's absolutely no need to avoid suspicion. You're the only one who knows who among the Cui family's children is talented. The king and I both believe in your character and wouldn't recommend someone as immoral as Cui Jian to harm the people. Your participation in this matter is absolutely necessary."

Since she said so, Cui Yan had no choice but to agree.

"One more thing. Once the situation in Jizhou is settled, the capital of our Tang Kingdom will be moved from Jinyang to Yecheng!"