Three Kingdoms: Cao Cao and Liu Bei help me to ascend the throne

Chapter 259 This kid?Are you scared?

The Eastern Han Dynasty was a parallel empire of prefectures and states. In the Han Empire, there were many feudal states of different sizes and levels, which were collectively called "countries".

The vassal states are divided into five classes-gong, hou, bo, son, and male!

After careful calculation, there are hundreds of large and small families, and the smallest vassal state is only [-] to [-] households.

Jinan State used to be a "public" state in history, but now it is a "hou" state.

In the 16th year of Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty (164 BC), Jinan County of the old state of Qi was changed to Jichuan Kingdom, and Liu Tai, the son of Emperor Huihui, was granted the title of King of Jichuan. During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, Jinan Kingdom was one of the seven countries that participated in the rebellion. After the chaos, it was changed back to the county.In the 15th year of Jianwu in the Eastern Han Dynasty (39 years), it was restored to the country...

It's just that it is no longer descended from a "prince" country to a "hou" country.

Today's Jinan monarch Liu Tai is a hereditary marquis, and the Jinan prime minister must be directly appointed by the imperial court to assist the Jinan governor in managing local affairs and in charge of local security, and is directly responsible to the emperor.

As for…

What kind of place is Jinan?
According to the history books...Cao Cao's record in the preface-"Moved to Jinan Prime Minister, the state has more than ten counties, there are many officials and relatives, and the stolen goods are messy!"

This can be seen.

As for, how "messy" is it?
At that time, Jinan Kingdom had an appropriate nickname - "Thousand Temple Kingdom".

A black-covered boat went down the waterway, going like flying, and swayed the turbulent waves...Undulating on the endless river, Cao Cao sat alone on the bow, looking at the distant and misty green hills on both sides...Can't help feeling softly, "How can such a good place bear such a bad name?"

Speaking of...

Cao Cao seemed to be "addicted" to being an official. No matter how much Cao Song objected, he could not stop his determination to go to Jinan.

certainly…

After the baptism of suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he was a little more dignified and generous.

Coupled with Dunqiu's three years of work experience, he feels that he is fully capable of governing Jinan, which has been in chaos for 70 years.

Speaking of it, the Eastern Han Dynasty belonged to the Yellow River Economic Belt, and the Yellow River flowed eastward, bringing vitality to both sides of the strait, but also challenges and disasters.The cities along the line are prosperous because of the water, but also full of danger because of the flood.

On the Yellow River, Cao Cao was sitting on the bow, passing the border of Dunqiu...

When passing through Dunqiu County, he remembered the experience of blocking the Yellow River breach.

There are also people beating gongs and drums, and the scene of the fleet transporting grain to Luoyang seems to be yesterday.

Now that Dunqiu has been burned by the Yellow Turban Army, I don't know how the people in the county are doing.

"Ugh…"

Thinking of this, Cao Cao sighed helplessly.

The common people say that "having a son is not poor", but this is an irony for Cao Cao... Cao's family will be poorer if they have a son.

But to manage a place well, without money... it is impossible to move an inch!
Cao Cao remembered Cao Song saying "Don't even think about running back halfway to borrow money"...

Immediately, he helplessly shook his head and smiled wryly.

More than ten years have passed since he graduated from Taixue, and the "academic" taste in him seems to have turned to another extreme because of Liu Yu's appearance...

There will be no one like the third brother Liu Yu...tolerate him who doesn't understand the rules of officialdom, won't flatter others, make money...

"Indulge" in his wrong things, no matter who the other party is, he should be corrected immediately, and if there is a bad atmosphere, he should be eliminated.

Cao Cao also knew that with his temperament, his official career could not be smooth sailing.

In terms of officialdom experience, maybe... the Cao family is not as good as the previous generation, Cao Song is not as far-sighted as Cao Teng, and Cao Cao is not as smooth and calm as Cao Song.

But... What Cao Cao is confident about is that the third younger brother pointed him to a brand new path, without flattery or collusion, he can be the emperor's assistant prime minister and the country's pillar of the road!

We will arrive at the port ahead, and the brothers Xiahoudun and Xiahouyuan will pick him up there.

Cao Cao took out Liu Yu's letter from his bosom again, unfolded it slowly, and read the words on it again.

——"My brother Yu supported my elder brother to be the prime minister of Jinan. Although the moth rebellion subsided, it was Jizhou and Nanyang. The Yellow Turbans of Yanzhou and Qingzhou were all dormant here, waiting for the opportunity to move. This is a huge hidden danger for the great man. If the elder brother can Having made a name for himself and being able to truly make decisions for the people, maybe... this hidden danger will be able to emulate the Black Mountain Army and become a big man's help!"

This is the first half of the letter. It was these words that made Cao Cao determined to go to Jinan to serve as the country's prime minister.

Jinan is located in Qingzhou... According to the third brother, a large number of Yellow Turbans from the Central Plains are dormant in Qingzhou and Yanzhou. This is the biggest instability factor for the Han Dynasty.

The facts are indeed the same. If according to the historical deduction, Cao Cao was stationed in Yanzhou and was elected as the pastor of Yanzhou after the Dong League was discussed... The biggest problem he faced was the Yellow Turban Army from Qingzhou.

And there are a large number of Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army from Jinan...

certainly…

Historically, Cao Cao had subdued them, but this kind of subduing was not true convincing.

Cao Cao continued to read Liu Yu's letter.

"Jinan is also known as the country of thousands of ancestral temples, and its crux is only one word - ancestral hall. Among the thousands of ancestral halls, two of them have become living ancestral halls..."

Just as Liu Yu wrote on the letterhead.

The reason why Jinan Kingdom got the nickname of "Thousand Ancestral Temple Country" has to start with King Jing Liuzhang.

At that time, Liu Zhang, the king of Chengyang who was entrusted in Jinan City, made great contributions to the great man.

Later generations built a temple to sacrifice to Liu Zhang.Perhaps Jinan is close to Lu State, the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, and the people of the world are deeply influenced by the "Spring and Autumn" compiled by Confucius. It is necessary to raise funds from the people to set up shrines and sacrifices for the good people and good deeds.

More than ten counties and counties under the Jinan state rule, as well as the surrounding areas of Jinan, followed suit.

Among them, Jinan has the largest number, with more than 600 ancestral temples, and it is known as "the country of thousands of ancestral halls".

Originally...

Many people who are interested in this can put their statues in the temple for people to admire as long as they donate money to build bridges and build temples.

This is a good thing in a way, because it further incentivizes rich people to spend their money on good things.

But slowly...the taste changed...

Because a lot of donated money... Most of it is not rich people's money, but a blank check.

On the contrary, because of this "empty check", the government confiscated the people's money in the name of the donor's shrine.

Often less than one percent of the collected money is spent on building temples, and the rest falls into the pockets of the government and the handlers.

The final status quo is that the people suffer untold hardships to build temples, and the rich sit firmly in temples and receive incense.

Liu Yu knows Jinan too well, and has visited and studied the history museum here countless times in her previous life...

Therefore, he pointedly pointed out the crux of the matter here, and that was——the shrine!

He also told Cao Cao the evolution process of the Qianci Kingdom in detail through letters...

Cao Cao touched his nose and continued to look down.

——Organize manpower, demolish temples and destroy temples, destroy the source of corruption, crack down on taking the opportunity to steal, and eliminate the source of corruption of the chief executives and noble relatives of the "Thousand Temple Kingdom"!

——Brother, the tyrants of Jinan are not the "turtles" of Dunqiu. They have intertwined relationships with many court ministers and wealthy clans. It is absolutely impossible to "grab" similar to Dunqiu.You have to follow the vines, wait for the right opportunity, if you don't make a move, you will be fine, if you make a move, you will catch them all in one go, big brother, take care of it, and respectful brother Yu! "

Inexplicably, after reading Liu Yu's letterhead again, Cao Cao seemed to have a little more insight.

The ship has come to port...

"Brother..." Xia Houyuan had already waved at him.

Cao Cao saluted...

Xia Houyuan pointed to the official in front of him: "The Jinan Kingdom is in front of us. My eldest brother is the Prime Minister of Jinan, so I should go to see the King of Jinan first..."

While talking, Xia Houyuan brought the horse over.

"Not busy..." Cao Cao had a new idea, "Let's not go to the city yet..."

"what…"

Cao Cao's words surprised Xia Houyuan.

Aren't we here to be officials?Why don't you enter this city?

"Haha..." Cao Cao patted Xia Houyuan's shoulder with a smile, "This time, we don't want to rob, let's take it by chance!"

In a word, "hahaha" with a refreshing smile, Cao Cao got on his horse... rode his horse and swung his whip, and left in the dust.

Xia Houyuan quickly caught up.

...

...

In Jinan, a magnificent pavilion.

Countless famous people from Jinan gathered here...there were high-ranking officials, wealthy people, and landlords...

Almost everyone's eyes were narrowed, as if something was on their minds.

"What is the origin of the new Prime Minister Jinan?"

"I heard that he was a captain of Luoyang North, a commander of Dunqiu, a Yilang, and a captain of cavalry. What is his name Cao Cao... Lao Tzu is Da Sinonong Cao Song, and grandfather is Da Changqiu Cao Teng?"

"If you say that, I'm a little impressed. He was the one who cast the five-colored stick to kill Jian Shuo's uncle, and made those gentry put their tails between their tails in Dunqiu, right?"

"Yeah, he's a hard stubble, and he's hard to deal with! But there's also the father of a big farmer... who can settle things!"

"Hmph, does Zhang Changshi have something to bring?"

"Then I have to ask Master Zhang Qian..."

Talking here, with a bang, the door was pushed open...

"Cough cough..."

With a light cough, a rather rich man in his forties slowly walked in. He was none other than Zhang Qian.

Don't look at his age is older than Zhang Rang, but he is one of Zhang Rang's many foster sons...

This level of status is enough for him to walk sideways in Jinan.

"Twittering, talking about it for a long time, but I can't say a fart. Listen carefully, godfather has written!"

As soon as Zhang Qian said this...

Everyone sat upright.

Already asked flatteringly: "What advice does Zhang Changshi have?"

The stars hold the moon like...

Zhang Qian finally spoke, "Godfather told you not to offend this Cao Cao!"

This…

Zhang Changshi has never been so "counseled" before. You know, when the previous Jinan Prime Minister took office, Zhang Rang brought only one sentence, dare to do bad things... hack!
"But Zhang Changshi took into account that Cao Song's face, let us treat Cao Cao well?"

"What kind of fart is Cao Song?" Zhang Qian spread his hands, and his face immediately became serious, "You don't know yet, this Cao Cao is the eldest brother of the newly promoted Dahonglu Liuyu, and this is the celebrity in front of His Majesty, godfather... I don't want to conflict with him!"

Oh…

The words blurted out, everyone understood and nodded.

After a while, he opened his mouth with a bright head and said: "Then...it's not easy, there are many ways not to offend, we can drag him into the water at any cost!"

Hmm... At any cost, drag him into the water.

With these words blurted out, everyone raised their heads.

Zhang Qian paused, pondered for a moment, and then nodded heavily, "It's a good one to drag him into the water at any cost... Hehe, there is no official who is not corrupt in this world. As long as the etiquette is in place, even if Cao Cao has three heads and six arms, it is a pity that we will not move Jinan." The foundation of the country!"

foundation...

What is the foundation of Jinan's dignitaries and bullies and common people?
It is - the temple!
As long as there are ancestral temples and there will be ancestral temples, officials and wealthy households have a reason to collect taxes from the common people, and they don’t need to pay taxes, which are directly used for “construction and restoration of ancestral temples.”

As long as there is an excuse to collect taxes, the people are their "cash machines", and they can take as much as they want.

Anyone who gets less will feel that their political awareness is not enough, and no one in the clan will look down on them!

Officials, gentry and wealthy households are sitting firmly on the fishing platform, haha...Could it be that you, Cao Cao, dare to risk the disgrace of the world and fail to demolish the temple after feeding Cao Cao to his full strength?
only…

How could these dignitaries have thought that Cao Cao hadn’t come to Jinan yet... on board, because of a letter that came from afar, he had already set a big policy-organizing manpower, demolishing shrines and temples, destroying the source of corruption, and cracking down on taking advantage of the opportunity to steal money. Eliminate the source of corruption of the chief executives and noble relatives of the "Thousand Temple Kingdom"!

certainly…

Rich people don't think about it anyway.

Take ten thousand steps back and say that the Yellow Turban rebellion has been put down. This is a peaceful era, with emperors and empires still above, and ghosts and gods three feet above the ground.Ren Cao Cao has ten guts, isn't he afraid of retribution from ghosts and gods?
...

...

At the gate of the city of Jinan, countless wealthy businessmen gather here.

Today is nothing else, just to welcome Cao Cao...

Yesterday, they had formulated a whole set of plans to welcome Cao Cao to take office, appointed post stations along the way to pay close attention to Cao Cao's itinerary, prepared gifts and money, and traveled thirty miles to welcome Cao Cao.

Specifically... two silver carts, ten catties of gold, five hundred catties of silver, and 200 million yuan in money!

Some other grain cloth rare play jade...

In addition, the rich merchants also prepared living creatures—women.

Four stunning beauties who were brought up by the Baotu Spring in Jinan... let alone a young man, even an old man who is dying, I am afraid that he will have a second spring again.

Taking care of the family for Cao Cao, the Prime Minister of Jinan, and talking about the pain of homesickness... It seems that it is perfect.

With such "etiquette", if you don't have experience and spend a lot of money, you will not be tempted.

Unless he is the Clay Sculpture of No Desires No Demands enshrined in the Jinan National Ancestral Temple.

only…

Cao Cao did not take the land route as originally planned. He had already sneaked into Jibei, which is across the river, with Xia Houyuan.

Wealthy families stretched their necks in prayer, while Cao Cao made a private visit to investigate the disaster along the Yellow River.

Jibei is located between the Yellow River and the Jihe River. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that "Jibei suffers when the Yellow River floods, and Jibei suffers when the Jihe River floods".

How many floods and natural disasters are there in this narrow strip between the two rivers?No need to think about it.

Wherever Cao Cao went, he could see people starving to death due to disasters.

He and Xia Houyuan counted the extremely poor one by one and calculated the food needed. In just over ten days, they traveled almost all over Jibei.

Wealthy families in Jinan can't wait anymore, more than half a month has passed...

Damn, there's no news from the station

It stands to reason...Cao Cao should also report to Liu Tai, the king of Jinan, before he can take up the post of Minister of State.

Seeing that the time to take office is approaching, Cao Cao has not yet come to Jinan. Does he want to lose his position, or is he afraid?

"Hey…"

After more than ten days in a row, Zhang Qian was really impatient to wait. He pouted and shouted: "This kid, don't you dare to come?"

"Could it be cowardly?"

...

...

(End of this chapter)