Chapter 432: Leniency
The third day of the first lunar month, the ninth year of Jian’an.

Black Bear woke up early that morning, and his new secretary Lang Qin Mi came to the study door waiting with a wooden tray.

Two guards also brought toiletries and breakfast, and the new supervisor Gao Jun was also there.

Gao Jun was the eldest son of Gao Shun, whom he selected from among the military forces of Dongzhou and promoted.

Five brothers came to Shu together to escape the chaos, but one died on the way; in the past few years, another died of illness, and another died in battle. Now only two brothers, Gao Jun and Gao Guang, are left.

When Black Bear saw Gao Jun, he asked, "What's the matter, Yingtai?"

"Your Majesty, today we have seven additional guards. As usual, they are required to give a name. May I ask, Your Majesty, what name will you give this year?"

Qin Mi also looked at Black Bear curiously as he was wearing a white pajamas with a double-breasted collar. The pajamas were filled with goose down, which looked thin but was very warm.

After he sat down, he thought for a while and said, "I used Yuan in the first year, Yi last year, and this year I hope that Shu will be peaceful, so I chose An."

Then he picked up the pen, and Dian Wei, who was always on duty in the study, came over to grind ink for him.

He dipped the brush in ink and wrote the word "An" in golden script. He picked up the edge of the paper and handed it to Gao Jun: "The guards selected this year are all given the word "An".

"Here."

Gao Jun took it with both hands, bowed deeply, then took a few steps back and left.

Then, with the help of two personal soldiers, Black Bear quickly washed up, chose a bright yellow turban from a plate of turbans and put it on his head, then began to eat.

The breakfast was simple, with only a bowl of rice, a plate of cold beef, a plate of cold vegetables, and a bowl of mushroom soup.

After finishing the meal, he began to deal with the documents brought by Qin Mi.

What made him think again and again was the document sent by Fa Zheng, in which Fa Zheng pleaded for many powerful people and officials in Shu.

The Huang and Gao families, who rebelled some time ago, were vulnerable, but these two families were very large, and there were many powerful people, scholars, and officials who had in-laws, disciples, and former officials with them throughout Shu and Nanzhong.

If the policy of exterminating three clans is implemented, the Gao and Huang families will be completely destroyed, and nearly 10,000 families with other surnames will also be affected.

It cannot be said that all of Shu has been emptied out, but it will definitely have a serious impact on this year's spring ploughing.

There is one thing Fa Zheng did not mention, which is that as the weather warmed up during the first month of the year, the Xianbei and Xiongnu people could no longer bear it.

Symptoms increased and complaints arose.

For the people of these bitterly cold lands, death is bearable, but disease, and the increasing number of illnesses, are unbearable.

Two-thirds of the troops must be withdrawn before February.

The Xianbei and Xiongnu people were anxious to return to hold the New Year's Day meeting, as this concerned the internal distribution rights of the Chanyu and the Xianbei King.

Being able to exercise this distribution right and dominant power normally means the establishment of leadership.

If they are not there during that period and other nobles are asked to do the job... then the other party's influence will naturally increase, which will bring other problems.

Therefore, the withdrawal of Xianbei and Xiongnu troops was urgent.

The military households in Guanzhong also had to evacuate. They were more concerned about their land than rewards. Many veterans in Guanzhong were assigned wives, and the first huge baby boom had arrived in autumn and winter.

They were eager to return home with the cloth awarded as a reward on the battlefield in Yizhou, to take care of production and to see their children.

Homesickness is rampant, so objectively there are no conditions to deal with the people involved in the Huang and Gao families on a large scale and in a meticulous manner.

Therefore, Fa Zheng proposed to use this opportunity to build favor in Shu.

Just the corpses of the Huang and Gao families are enough to dramatically increase the control of Shu County.

A large amount of land resources can be redistributed, which can alleviate the contradiction between population and land in Shu County.

If one insists on dealing with it and wants to motivate the troops who are overwhelmed by homesickness, the only option is to unlock the cages and let them eat meat and drink blood.

In this case, all the restraint and patience in the early stage were useless. Therefore, Fa Zheng's plea was objectively impossible to handle in one step; secondly... During the Liu Yan and Liu Zhang period, the prison systems in the counties of Shu were seriously overloaded.

After nearly three months of sorting out, only about two-thirds of the problem was solved.

If we strictly deal with the peripheral implicated members of the Huang and Gao families, all the counties in Shu will be exhausted... I'm afraid that if they keep catching people, one-third of the county magistrates will have to go to jail, and the jailers may have to go to jail as well.

The scope of involvement is too wide, and this is the influence of a complete local surname.

Qin Mi was also aware of Fa Zheng's proposal. He was also surprised. He did not expect Fa Zheng to have such a broad view.

I thought he was a cruel official and a mad dog like Man Chong, but I didn't expect that after he went to Chengdu and dealt with a few people, he easily let the rest go without any further investigation.

Now that the opportunity to deal a heavy blow to the big families in Yizhou is before him, Fa Zheng can actually persuade the Grand Marshal to give a lighter punishment.

I couldn't help but feel a little fortunate that only an outsider and a native of Guanzhong like Fa Zheng dared to suggest lenient punishment.

If a person from Yizhou were to be the chief clerk, if he proposed lenient punishment at this time, he would most likely get himself involved, and it would be more likely to intensify the conflict, causing the bad-tempered Grand Marshal to deal with him more severely and quickly.

If we really send out the Mianzhu army, these troops will definitely be able to eliminate all kinds of unhealthy forces in Shu.

Both the person and the breath will be burned together, nothing will be left.

Black Bear thought for a moment and asked Qin Mi, "Why don't you see Yang Xiu and She Yuan?"

"Your Majesty, this discussion concerns the prosperity and decline of Shu. Logically, I should avoid it, but I am concerned about you, so I came to see you first."

Qin Mi bowed and said, "I, your humble servant, must risk my life to persuade Your Majesty to give Shuzhong a chance."

"You know, I gave you a lot of chances."

Black Bear picked up a pen and wrote a word at the end of the "Discussion on the Huang-Gao Rebellion" sent by Fa Zheng: Approved.

Then he looked up at Qin Mi and said, "Since you have given me so many chances, I don't mind giving me another one. The Zhang and Wang families have set great examples, and the Huang and Gao families are resisting stubbornly. In fact, I don't care how they choose, nor do I care what choices they will make in the future. The key is you, you are by my side, and you must not let me down."

"Yes, I understand."

Qin Mi knelt down immediately and kowtowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for forgiving the men and women of all the families in Shu."

"Get up, this matter cannot be delayed, report to Chengdu immediately and ask them to deal with it leniently. You'd better go to Chengdu in person and convey my attitude clearly. I came to Yizhou to protect the peace of the people, not to steal wealth, women, and certainly not to kill people."

"Yes, I will go right away."

Qin Mi bowed again, then stood up and took the written proposal.

He really didn't dare to delay. Seeing Black Bear nod slightly, Qin Mi took five or six steps back with the proposal in both hands, bowed deeply, then turned around and walked out of the study quickly. Then he heard the sound of his quick footsteps.

Qin Mi had to quickly find the historian Zhang Chang to copy it, and then take the stamped copy to Chengdu.

Black Bear also understood this and thought that if he had another half year, he would be able to sort it out.

But we can't delay any longer in Guanzhong.

There are many things that need his handling, and it's not that they can't be handled without him.

But only when he returns to Guanzhong to take charge can all things proceed steadily.

There are rumors in Guanzhong now, ranging from that he is obsessed with the prosperity of Shu to that he is injured and recuperating.

There were even rumors that he was under house arrest by the military. In short, he had to return and show his face.

The harm caused by rumors is even more dangerous than Cao Cao's attack on Mianchi.

We can't delay any longer, we should go back early so that everyone can work with peace of mind.

(End of this chapter)