Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

Chapter 364: Re-establishing a New System

Cui Yan and Ju Su were both called to Handan.

Lu Bu didn't know how to deal with such complicated things, so he left the matter to Amo.

Zhang Mo first showed Cui Yan the evidence of the Cui family members' crimes. Cui Yan only glanced at it briefly and said, "Since the evidence is conclusive, the decision on how to punish them is entirely up to the princess!"

"Mr. Cui, don't you defend them?" Zhang Mo asked.

Cui Yan seemed to have accepted his fate. He lowered his head and said indifferently, "The evidence is irrefutable!"

"Is it irrefutable or do you think I'm going to use Cui as an example and don't want to argue?" Zhang Mo asked meaningfully.

Cui Yan looked up, and a hint of surprise appeared on her face which had been calm just now. Ju Su also looked at her strangely. This time, Cui Jian made such a big fuss. Wasn't she just trying to make an example of him to scare the monkeys?

As the new successor of Jizhou Mu, Ju Su had recently made a thorough study of the policies implemented in Bingzhou. Just from the land and taxation policies, he could see the governing philosophy and direction of the people in power in Bingzhou.

Lu Bu is not Yuan Shao. He does not have a deep family background. He is just a common man on the border and may not even have studied Confucian classics. However, he has witnessed how Dong Zhuo and the gentry got along and the final outcome. Peaceful coexistence is impossible, and simple massacre will not work either, so he is looking for a balance.

The wife he married was the daughter of the Wang family of Taiyuan. From then on, he was connected with the aristocratic family. He relied on the aristocratic family, but would never allow himself to be led by the nose by the aristocratic family.

Measuring land, abolishing the head tax, dividing the land tax by acreage, and setting an upper limit for meritorious land were all policies he used to break free from the economic control of the aristocratic families and powerful people.

In Hanoi, he killed a group of people and promoted another group, and with an absolutely strong attitude, he made it clear to the nobles that those who obey me will prosper and those who oppose me will perish.

He separated the military and politics, greatly weakened the power of provincial governors and county magistrates, and reduced the possibility of local rebellion.

How did he manage to do all this so smoothly?

Ju Su figured it out during this period, because he had an invincible and loyal army, and a good wife who could govern the country and lead the troops abroad. More importantly, Lu Bu himself had a very clear mind and enough courage and determination.

The aristocratic families were the root cause of the Han Dynasty's demise. How many people in the world could see this clearly? But he and his wife saw it clearly.

Ju Su knew that Jizhou would have to follow Bingzhou's policies as well. However, in the five counties of Jizhou, there were many powerful families and nobles, and it was impossible to carry out land surveying as smoothly as in Bingzhou. Therefore, he had to kill the chicken to scare the monkey!

Unfortunately, the Cui family fell into his hands, so even if there was no conclusive evidence, he should be able to produce a lot of evidence. However, from what the princess just said, it seemed that she wanted to give Cui Yan a chance to refute.

Ju Su understood this, and Cui Yan certainly understood it too.

Zhang Mo sat quietly at the top waiting for Cui Yan's answer, but Cui Yan kept his head down and remained silent, not knowing how to answer for a moment. Ju Su wanted to say a few words for Cui Yan, but he didn't know what to say.

Time passed minute by minute, and just when Zhang Mo was becoming more and more disappointed, Cui Yan finally took action.

He raised his hand, bowed his head, and bowed respectfully to Zhang Mo, "Princess, you have the world in your heart, are benevolent and kind, and clearly distinguish between public and private affairs. The Cui family is willing to serve the Tang Palace with all their might from now on!"

"Mr. Cui, do you understand what I mean?"

Zhang Mo said this nonchalantly, but in her heart she was very satisfied with Cui Yan's reaction.

The Qinghe Cui family originated from the Jiang surname and is a descendant of Taigong of Qi. It rose to prominence in the late Han Dynasty, inherited the throne during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, entered its heyday during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and reached its peak in the early years of the Northern Dynasties. During the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, it was included in the four noble families of "Lu, Cui, Zheng and Wang"; during the Tang Dynasty, it was ranked among the "Seven Surnames and Ten Families".

Although the Cui family had not yet reached its peak at this time, it had already developed four important branches. Cui Yan was the ninth generation of one of the branches. The Cui family members were spread all over Jizhou. If a war were to break out, the Cui family alone would probably cause rivers of blood to flow in Jizhou. This was one of the reasons why Zhang Mo did not want to start a war.

In addition, Qinghe County, where the Cui clan gathered, is currently controlled by Gongsun Zan. If there is an insider to use when seizing Qinghe County in the future, a lot of unnecessary casualties can be reduced.

Another point is that in history, when Cui Yan was an official in Cao Wei, he was praised by Cao Cao for his selflessness and noble character. Zhang Mo also verified this in the process of investigating the civil and military officials of Jizhou. Therefore, it is better to use Cui Yan than to kill him.

Cui Yan said, "The Cui family has many collateral branches, and the descendants are of varying quality, many of whom are scoundrels. As an elder, I failed to guide them properly. I cannot escape the blame. Please, Princess, dismiss me from my position!"

As he spoke, he took off the seal on his body, took two steps forward, and presented it with both hands.

Zhang Mo took his official seal and said, "As long as you understand, sir, you will return to Qinghe soon! As for the individuals impeached this time, I will have them conduct a thorough investigation. No guilty person will be spared, and no innocent person will be wrongly accused. Rest assured, sir."

Cui Yan didn't say anything else, just bowed respectfully and left!

Only Zhang Mo, her servant and Ju Su were left in the room. When Ju Su saw Zhang Mo's gaze turning towards him, he stood solemnly. Although he had known for a long time that the girl in front of him should not be taken lightly, today he truly witnessed her wisdom.

She made such a big fuss about Cui Jian, not to kill Cui, but to use Cui, and even to use it to warn herself, the newly appointed governor of Jizhou.

Sure enough, she slowly returned to her seat, flipping through a list with her delicate hands. She said, "These are the people who attempted to bribe Cui Jian to exonerate him. Have someone investigate the impeached individuals and handle them according to the law. These people will be directly dismissed and never rehired."

"Yes!" Ju Su took the list and put it into his sleeve.

"That's all for today."

Zhang Mo raised her hand, motioning for Ju Su to sit down and talk. "Now, let's discuss your views on Bingzhou's policies! Can these policies be implemented in Jizhou?"

Ju Su walked to the side and sat down, feeling somewhat ashamed, he said, "I dare not lie to the princess. Before today, perhaps only 30% of it could be implemented. However, after today, no matter how difficult it is, I will do my best to promote the new policy."

"Why do you say that?" Zhang Mo took a sip of tea and asked in confusion.

Ju Su sighed softly, "Since Emperor Ling's death, the world has been ravaged by Dong Zhuo and his host of hegemons. The people are suffering, with no place to stand. The mountains and rivers are divided, and war is everywhere."

"The root cause of all these problems is the excessive power of the aristocratic families and the rottenness of the old system. If this problem is not resolved, even if we achieve temporary unification, we will fall back into a cycle of suffering within a hundred years. The princess saw the problem years ago and implemented the land tax policy to solve the fundamental problem of the people's livelihood. However, this policy aims to take food from the aristocratic families, which is bound to be fraught with difficulties."

"The princess wanted to return to Jinyang after appointing the officials of Jizhou. She didn't care whether the new policy could be implemented in Jizhou, nor did she intend to touch the Jizhou nobles. Some people will inevitably not take the new policy seriously, so I said that only 30% of it can be implemented."

"This time, they've used the Cui family incident to depose Cui Yan, kill Cui Jian, and implicate other members of the Cui family. Furthermore, the precedent set by Henei County is enough to serve as a warning to other aristocratic families and county officials in Jizhou. Under such circumstances, land surveying and tax reform will be much easier. Most importantly, I see the princess's determination to eliminate long-standing abuses and establish a new system. With your solid support, I will give it my all."

What's even more interesting is that everyone thought Cui Yan, who was dismissed from office and punished, actually went back to Qinghe to be an insider. It must be said that this woman's methods are indeed very clever. No wonder she was able to trick Benchu ​​into believing in her like a god.

Zhang Mo smiled and said, "With your words, the king and I can safely hand over Jizhou to you."

She stamped Lü Bu's seal on a temporary troop mobilization letter she had just written and handed it to Ju Su. "When measuring the land, if any family refuses to cooperate and causes trouble, you can contact the county commander to dispatch troops to suppress them. Whether to execute or pardon them is up to you. I only care about the final result."

Ju Su took it with both hands and replied solemnly, "Yes!"