Three Kingdoms: Ancestors of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 609 Envoys
Soochow, Jianye.

The streets are empty and there are few people, and plain onyx is hung in front of the doors of all ethnic groups in mourning.

Zhuge Qiao took off his coat, hung it on the hanger, and said to Liao Li: "Brother Liao, Mrs. Bu passed away, Lord Wu is very sad. I can't meet with you today, let me go to the hall to see you tomorrow."

Over the years, for some reason, it seems to be unfavorable to the queens of various countries.First, Empress Zhang of the Han Dynasty died of illness, and later Empress Mao of Cao Wei was gifted to death by Cao Rui.At the time of Soochow, Mrs. Bu, the real queen of Soochow, also died of illness in the palace.

Liao Li picked up the tea, took a sip, and said with emotion: "It seems that the country of Wu, who has stayed out of the matter, is also restless! I hope that Lord Wu will not ruin the affairs of the country because of Mrs. Bu's death."

Zhuge Qiao sat down across from Liao Li and said: "The state of Wu is not at peace. This year there are serious bandits. Lu Xun, Lu Dai, and Liu Zuan are everywhere to quell the rebellion. Lu Xun has been conquered. Lu Dai has not yet conquered the Luling bandits, and they are still on the way. .”

The battle between the Han and Wei dynasties was fierce in Nanyang, and the territory of Soochow was not peaceful, and the states also began their annual war to suppress bandits.

Liao Li stroked his beard and asked, "Bo Song, why is the rebellion so difficult this year?"

Liao Li often travels to Soochow, and knows that bandits and thieves have almost run through the history of Soochow. It has been more than ten years since Sun Ce raised his troops until now that Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor, and there were rebellions almost every year. It would be strange if there were no rebellions in that year thing.

However, as usual, rebellions triggered by civil uprisings are quickly put down, but this year's rebellion seems to be more difficult than before.

Zhuge Qiao glanced outside the door and said in a low voice: "Because of the Battle of Anfeng, Lord Wu lost more than [-] strong men, and all households in the east of the Yangtze River wept bitterly. And Lord Wu sent a big spring to the middle of the country because of insufficient military supplies. , not only the common people are deeply resentful, but even the gentry and the powerful are dissatisfied. Lord Wu is suffering because of this."

Liao Li still knows a thing or two about why the Sun Wu regime's rebellions are one after another and difficult to put down.

In the final analysis, Sun Quan was too harsh on the people under his rule. For example, the Sun Wu regime imposed a variety of taxes such as "rent, tax, calculation, tax, and household". 56 years old... It can be seen that its taxes are extremely harsh.

If the people in Soochow do not evade taxes, the tax rate will be as high as 50-70%. If there is a drought, the tax rate can exceed 100%, and there is no ceiling.

Such a high tax made it impossible for the people of Soochow to survive. If they did not rebel, they could only enter a large family and become a hermit.Therefore, the people on the Soochow household registration did not dare to have children. Without contraceptive tools, they often drowned their babies, thinking that they would survive.

The same is true for official households. Unlike the officials who eat national food in the imagination of everyone, the official households of the Three Kingdoms also have to pay taxes and serve corvee.For example, there are five people in the family of Soochow State, and three of them are heavy-duty soldiers, and they have to send a limited amount of rice to serve the army.

In addition, Sun Quan sent more than 4 strong men to Anfeng, and used Daquan money to exploit the people of Dongwu. The people of Dongwu felt resentful, and the rebellion this year was more intense than previous years.

"How did Bo Song know about Lord Wu's worries?" Liao Li asked.

"Hey." Zhuge Qiao smiled without saying a word. Instead of answering Liao Li's question, he sighed and said, "The people of Wu are hard and the taxes are harsh. Today, I am a big man who can support the people, and my household registration is increasing day by day. If it takes more than ten years, we will The great Han has a large population, and the people of civil and military affairs are at their peak, how can the state of Wu be as good as the great Han. At that time, the fate of the world will be in my great man."

With the expansion of the territory of the Han Dynasty, the number of troops did not increase much, and the expenditure of the imperial court to support the army remained basically unchanged.In terms of fiscal revenue, Dahan exploited Jiangdong by expanding its territory and using money and horses to operate the Silk Road of the Second North and South Roads.

Therefore, under this circumstance, a large number of projects of ruling the country and the army of the Han Dynasty can be launched. For example, after the implementation of the restricted land system, Liu Chan not only reduced the poll tax for young children in order to stimulate births, but also reduced the existence of drowned female babies. Taxes paid have also been reduced.

The army was expanded in Yongliang, and some of the weak and weak men of Bashu origin in the army were released to return to their hometowns to farm.Use the factories left by Wei State in the northwest to build armor and weapons to enhance the strength of the Shu Han army.

In terms of officials, they dared to promote outstanding officials in central Shu to serve in the Northwest and Guanzhong. The gentry in Central Shu had been completely subordinated to the Han, unlike the phenomenon of alienation and morality that occurred during the time of Lao Liu's administration.

Qiao Zhou is also very powerful, constantly writing articles desperately advocating the rationality of the big Han, and refuting the wrong statement that "the one who replaced the Han should be a high-ranking Tu, but Wei".

A few years ago, after the Great Han conquered Chang'an and named Lao Liu as the ancestor, Qiao Zhou and Wu Danxue palace scholars made a big publicity, "The first emperor 'prepared' the foundation and your majesty, and your majesty 'zen' Mount Tai in the world".

In addition to wanting to evade taxes and occupy more acres of land, these Bashu gentry have reassured Liu Chan, and finally lived up to his wishes.

With the increase and decrease of the two countries, Liao Li was quite touched by the changes.

When he first went to Wu as an envoy, the Shu Han had just conquered Longyou. At that time, both national strength and population were inferior to Sun Wu.At that time, Wu State could be said to be the brightest cub in the Three Kingdoms, defeating Liu Bei in the west and destroying Cao Xiu in the north, and his power shook the world.

But now everything seems to be in a reincarnation. The officials of Soochow Wu dare not get angry when they see him, and they dare not use the insulting "Shu" to refer to the big man.

Sure enough, as His Majesty said, "Dignity is only on the edge of the sword, and truth is only under the iron hoof."

After a pause, Zhuge Qiao continued: "Brother Liao, when I was looking for news, I heard that the great general Lu Xun arrived in Jianye today. I don't know if it will affect the matter of sending troops from Wu."

"Lu Xun?"

Liao Li stroked his beard and asked, "Is there any other news from Wu?"

Zhuge Qiao thought about it for a while, and then said: "My brother, Zhuge Ke, was stationed at the Wankou of the Lujiang River. When our army captured Nanyang, he attacked Shu County to the north and captured the people in the county. After returning to the army, Shang Shuyan wanted to conquer Shouchun. Wu The Lord thought that the time had not come, and was rejected by him.”

"What do you think, Brother Liao?"

Liao Li pondered for a long time, shook his head, and said: "There is too little information to make a decision. It's just that a certain person feels that this trip will not be as simple as before, and it may be difficult for Lord Wu to send troops."

Zhuge Qiao took a sip of tea, stood up, put on his outer robe, and said, "Brother Liao, wait for me for now. I'll go to the mansion of the General (Zhuge Jin) and see if I can get any news from it."

Liao Li saw that Zhuge Qiao was going to inquire about his biological father, Zhuge Jin, and got up to see him off, saying, "Bo Song, the most important thing is to express your feelings, and you can't directly talk about official affairs, or you can get news from the general."

Zhuge Qiao turned his head and smiled, and said, "You should know."

Although Zhuge Jin had a deep relationship with the Shu Han, he hardly revealed anything about political affairs.Since Zhuge Qiao was appointed by Liu Chan to be in charge of intelligence work in Soochow, he had not contacted the Zhuge family for fear of alarming Zhuge Jin.

This time the Dahan sent Liao Li to Soochow, and at the same time appointed Zhuge Qiao as his deputy to assist Liao Li in completing this mission.

And in the same city, within a government office.

Master Sima was leaning on the couch, holding the bamboo slips in his hand, looking at the Han Shu, very calm.On the other hand, Zhong Yu was a little nervous, pacing and meditating in the room, unable to meditate.

Zhong Yu stopped and asked: "Brother Sima, I waited until Jianye for a few days, but Master Wu did not summon us, but imprisoned us in the house instead, what is the meaning of this?"

Zhong Yu, courtesy name Zhishu, is the son of Tai Fu Zhongyou and the elder brother of Zhong Hui.He is quick-witted and agile, and has the legacy of his father. He became an official at the age of 14 and worshiped as the servant of Sanqi.

According to Jiang Ji's words, Cao Rui took Sima Shi as the main envoy, and Zhong Yu, the regular servant of Sanqi, as the deputy envoy, in order to form a plan to unite Wu and break Shu.

Master Sima put down the book of Han, stood up and sat on the couch, and said calmly: "What can be done? It's just that Sun Quan can't make a decision, and I don't know what to do. Someone thought that the envoy of the Shu people might also come to Jiangdong, and asked Sun Quan to send troops to Hefei to break the It's just the momentum of my army going south."

Hearing this, Zhong Yu panicked slightly, and asked, "What should I do?"

Master Sima blew on the steaming tea, and said calmly: "If Sun Quan wanted to follow the strategy of the Shu people, he would have driven us away long ago, so why did he imprison us in the house? Perhaps in just a few days, Lord Wu will We will be summoned, and whether it will be successful or not will depend on our words."

Seeing that Master Sima was stable and stable, Zhong Yu let go of the stone hanging in his heart, and said: "Brother Sima is steady, he can make Wei Wu allied with only brother, Yu should cooperate with brother Sima."

Master Sima helped Zhong Yu up, sighing inwardly.In reality, I am not sure that I can accomplish anything, and I can only see what the person who gave Sun Quan his idea thinks.If it is someone who hates Wei, it may be a broken dream, but if it is someone who hates Shu, the chance of success may be higher.

Lu Xun: ╭(╯^╰)╮

(End of this chapter)