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

Chapter 54

Luoyang Palace, the first month!
This month is known as "the month of Jianzheng". The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, so in the Western Han Dynasty, October was the first month every year. Until the time of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty, the imperial court revised the calendar and began to use the new "Taichu Calendar". January just became the first month.

The first day of the first lunar month is Zhengdan Day, which is what later generations call "New Year's Day"!
Different from ordinary families, the activities on Zhengdan Day take "sacrifice" as the theme within the family to strengthen the relationship and bond between internal members.

Externally, "Ye" and "He" are mainly used to strengthen social relations.

At the imperial level, a grand court meeting will be held on this day.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Just after the time of Chou, the gong of Yin time had just sounded, and all the officials lined up to enter the palace, presenting gifts to the emperor one by one.

The gifts of the Sangong and the princes were jade biscuits, the officials with two thousand stones offered lambs, the ones with a thousand stones to six hundred stones were geese, and the ones with less than six hundred stones were chickens.

Of course, only officials with two thousand shi can enter the hall to meet the emperor, and are eligible to shout "Long live"!
Inside the Deyang Hall, the voices of ministers shouting "Long Live" sounded.

Liu Hong seems to be quite happy today, because the government decree of "ten chaff, one grain" is rare. After the "flood" of the Yellow River in the empire, there was no "civil disaster"!
What's even more rare is that for the first time since he came to the throne, there were no disaster victims' riots in this extremely cold winter!

That was enough for him to get a few solid nights of sleep.

certainly…

The protection of the northern border is still stretching!
Xianbei went south to plunder, and there was another catastrophe outside Yanmen Pass...

A large amount of money and food from the treasury was invested in disaster relief, which caused dissatisfaction among the frontier generals and low morale of the frontier army.

Dozens of letters in a row, please money, please food!

To put it bluntly, without money and food, this battle cannot be fought!
"His Majesty…"

When Cao Song, the chief minister in charge of the empire's finances, presented his congratulatory gift "Little Lamb", the emperor Liu Hong asked with great interest. "The frontier generals have repeatedly written letters to supplement military expenses, Cao Dasinong, how much is left in the national treasury?"

This…

Hearing this question, it was obvious that Cao Song hesitated for a while. The original joy of worshiping the emperor on the first day of the first day disappeared.

There was a cloud of gloom over his whole cheek.

After hesitating again and again, Cao Song opened his mouth and said, "Don't dare to lie to Your Majesty, the treasury is already empty! There is really no way to make up the military salary!"

empty?

As soon as this remark came out...Emperor Liu Hong was startled.

That is to say, even if it is "ten grains and one grain", the cheapest and most efficient method is used to provide disaster relief, even if Cao Jie and Wang Fu's family properties are seized, the treasury... is still empty so quickly!

call…

Liu Hong's eyes widened. He really realized that this money...was really worthless!

Thinking about it carefully, how do you feel...Cao Jie, Wang Fu, and Zhang let their greedy ink gain, and the amount of their family property is a bit disappointing?
Liu Hong frowned.

Still underestimating the consumption of disaster relief...

It is also too underestimating the cost of repairing and strengthening the Yellow River dams. No matter how rich Cao Jie, Wang Fu, Zhang Rang, Cao Song and others are, no matter how greedy they are, the money is still very important for repairing the entire Yellow River dams and helping the victims. Far from enough.

If it weren't for the "ten bran and one grain" to accurately screen the "victims" during the disaster relief, if it wasn't for Cao Song's skills, one money can be used as two flowers!
I'm afraid, those confiscated gains are far from enough for disaster relief!

Of course, Cao Song has reached his limit, and there is really no money left in the treasury!

Can be…

The operation of the imperial court requires money, frontier protection requires money, relief to victims requires money, harem expenses require money, and raising the inner court to build the West Garden Army is a huge expense.

It's just that his son Liu Hong spends all day playing checks and balances and playing the emperor's mind. The pressure is too great. He wants to find a few more women to relax, and wants to build a few gardens to relax his tense nerves. Isn't that too much?
But... these are also inseparable from money!
——It is difficult for a man with money to be a man without money!

"Ugh…"

Liu Hong sighed, Zhang Rang at the side saw Liu Hong's bad mood, and immediately waved his hand.

"Your Majesty is tired, gentlemen, go down..."

All the ministers saluted and retreated.

After the activities of congratulating the emperor and presenting gifts at the Great Court Meeting, the Duke cannot go out of the palace, because according to the rules, there will be a palace banquet next.

During the banquet, Sikong and Da Sinong of the empire had to go off the stage in person to serve the food and drink of the officials.

This is a remnant of the old relationship between monarch and minister in the "new era".

Of course, during the banquet, Sikong and Da Sikong will also discuss with hundreds of officials about a series of sacrificial activities in the first ten days of the first month, such as the first Ding day and the first Hai day, to worship the ancestors and the god of agriculture respectively, and pray for their blessings. This year's harvest.

Of course, the process of these discussions has nothing to do with the emperor.

These sacrifices can't change a bag of money for the treasury?
At this moment, the Emperor Liu Hong is kneeling on the Dragon Throne in the Deyang Hall, frowning...

The whole is a look like a light on the back, sitting on pins and needles, like a stick in the throat!

Finally, he stood up, pacing with frowning eyes... It was a good day and a good mood, but because of the "money" of the entire empire, all of his appearances suddenly changed.

"Ugh…"

Another sigh.

There are quite a few big men and rich noble families, but it is even more difficult to ask them to come up with a string of five baht coins...

The poorest one is actually the emperor with the most respected status!
Ha ha…

Liu Hong just said, since he was a vassal king, he was poor, and now he is an emperor, and he is so poor, Liu Hong is completely speechless!
Zhang Rang rolled his eyes again and again. He knew the emperor's mind best and knew why he was troubled.

Immediately, he offered to propose.

"Your Majesty, it's not a problem for the entire empire and the court to have no money. Your Majesty...can you follow the example of Emperor Wu?"

Speaking of this, Zhang Rang's eyeballs affirmed. "During the Emperor Wu's period, the empire's finances could not afford to fight for years. Didn't it still depend on selling officials and nobles in the end? Isn't that the reason for your majesty's quality?"

Hmm... Selling an official title?
Liu Hong's eyes flickered, he had read about Emperor Wu's betrayal of officials.

How domineering was the so-called "one Jiazi's shame, and the Emperor Wu got the snow in one day" against the Huns in the Han Dynasty?

But behind the feats and demeanor of "attacking the Huns in the north and restoring the Western Regions" is huge military expenditure.

——The name of the Southern Expedition and the Northern War will be passed on forever, but the common people don't know how cold it was back then!

Not to mention the heavy taxes, the key is that these taxes are not enough for Emperor Wu to fight more than a hundred times in his life!

Selling the official title to expand the source... became a step that Emperor Wu had to take!
A Guanneihou 5 million money!

The price is clearly marked, and the old man is not deceiving. Emperor Wu has made a good start!
Thinking of this, Liu Hong paused, put his hand on his chin, and savored carefully.

Selling an official title... is a way.

During the period of Qin Shihuang, there were common people who received millet and thousand stones and worshiped them at the first level.

In the sixth year of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, he also issued a decree "making the people sell their titles".

During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, due to the shortage of food in the frontier fortress, he also adopted the method of exchanging nobles for millet to enrich the frontier fortress. Qian Shi is the head of the Great Shu!"

Even Liu Hong's predecessor, Emperor Huan Liu Zhi, once "sell Guanneihou, Huben, Yulin, Tiqi battalion, and five doctors for money!"

This…

So many seniors who became emperors can sell their officials?
Why can't he, Liu Hong?
Immediately, Liu Hong wanted to order to open the West Mansion to sell officials.

Do you want to be a Marquis of Guannei? 5 million money?
If you want to become a public minister, two thousand to ten million yuan, as long as you have money, you can help you realize your dream of being under one person!

Moreover…

Even if you don't sell officials, aren't these officials still recommended and supported by those scholar-bureaucrats?Allegiance to those top giants?

Humph?
Liu Hong pondered, if he sells officials directly, why does he have to have middlemen like literati and bureaucrats to make the difference?

"Zhang Changshi, convey my will...to open the West Mansion..."

Liu Hong's words just blurted out.

Jian Shuo, who was also in the Deyang Palace, sensed something was wrong, stepped forward quickly, and whispered in Liu Hong's ear: "Your Majesty, in the reign of Emperor Huan, a Guanneihou was only worth 5 million, but the eldest son of the emperor has a good way of making money. , Hu Feng is so powerful, the profit is more than tens of millions? Recently, it was found that Yulin Guan cooperated with Hebei Wuji Zhen's family and hoarded a large number of horses. Your Majesty may wish to wait and see..."

Jian Shuo didn't finish his speech, but Liu Hong's eyes froze in vain.

He subconsciously waved at Zhang Rang.

"Today's Zhengdan marks the beginning of the year, so we should be happy. It's not too late to make a decision on the state affairs of 'selling officials and nobles'!"

Hearing this, Zhang Rang was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly came back to his senses and quickly cupped his hands.

"Your Majesty's lesson!"

True…

He also has selfish motives in selling his official titles.

Today's officialdom is monopolized by the scholar-bureaucrat group. Who is not a scholar-bureaucrat in each state or county, regardless of the county guard or county magistrate?Even if some are from their eunuchs, they are alone.

But... Once you sell your official status, it will be different!

There are not many other eunuchs, only money!

Zhang Rang's family property has been handed over, but he can't support the ten permanent servants. There are more rich masters, who support some clansmen and buy officials with money. Whether it is the court or the local government, their eunuchs are very likely to stand up to the scholar-bureaucrats!
These are real powers!
Can be…

Unaware of what Jian Shuo said, His Majesty swallowed the decree of "selling an official" when it came to his lips.

Zhang Rang's back molars clucked!
——Jian Shuo... I am your ancestor!

This idea just appeared, and Zhang Rang shuddered all over.

Uh... He suddenly discovered that he didn't have this ability at all, damn it, he couldn't do it!

...

...

(End of this chapter)