Han family achievements

Chapter 412 Outside the city and inside the mansion
The surprise came quickly.

Three days later, Liu Bian and his party left Chenliu County on horseback and were heading towards Jizhou Julu.

Huangfu Jianchang handed over a memorial and said: "Your Majesty, this was sent from the palace."

Liu Bian was already somewhat familiar with the horse. He relaxed his hand with confidence, took the memorial, opened it, glanced at the ten lines, threw it back with a smile, and said: "This Yuan Shao knows how to advance and retreat."

This is Yuan Shao's "pleasure letter". It probably means that Yuan Tan brought the blame on himself. He, as a father, was guilty of lax discipline and asked the court to punish him severely.

Huangfu Jianchang held it firmly in his arms, then rode closer and whispered more quietly: "Your Majesty, the surprise has arrived, it's in Julu County."

"Oh?"

Liu Bian looked interested, touched his chin, and said, "How far has the marriage between Sun and Liu come?"

Huangfu Jianchang looked serious, sat back and said, "Back to Your Majesty, it is said that the matchmaker is shuttled among them and is discussing the specific details of the wedding. The wedding date is set in July."

Liu Bian reviewed the situation in Jiangdong again in his mind. After a long time, he narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: "Okay, let's see again, who is better, this little overlord or Uncle Liu Huang."

Liu Bian nodded slightly and said: "With Sun Liu here, it won't be a problem to block Yuan Shao. If Yuan Shao wants to go south, let him go. You have to keep an eye on Liu Biao, Liu Zhang, Shi Xie, and Wu Huan. Xianbei and others can't be careless. I want a period of peace, but if I have to fight, I have to hit them hard and painfully!"

"Wei Chen understands." Huangfu Jianchang raised his hand and responded, his expression cold and serious.

Liu Bian rode his horse, swaying and thinking, and said, "According to the plan, should we bypass other counties and go straight to Julu?"

"Yes." The answer was Zhao Yun, who was responsible for the corresponding escorts and arrangements for the road ahead.

Liu Bian looked at the looming mountain tops ahead and said: "Everyone says that Hebei is the most dangerous place in the world, and it's not unreasonable. Let's go to Lieren County in front first, don't go in, and find a village to stay for one night. "

"Wei Chen takes orders." Zhao Yun said.

He didn't care about this. His duty was only to protect Liu Bian and he didn't care about the schedule.

Huangfu Jianchang understood very well that Liu Bian was worried that someone had arranged for him in advance and that he would not be able to see the real world.

Liu Bian was riding a horse with various memorials in his hands. He did not approve them, he was just reading them.

I don't know how long it took, but Huangfu Jian came up and said with some hesitation: "Your Majesty, except for Liren County, there are no villages ahead."

Liu Bian was watching intently. He was startled when he heard this. He turned to look at him and said, "There is no village? What do you mean?"

Huangfu Jianchang didn't seem to know how to answer. He paused for a while and then said: "The guards have searched for more than ten miles, and they are basically empty. It should be that they have all fled."

Liu Bian frowned and said nothing. He looked up at Lieren County in front of him, already understanding in his heart.

Lieren County is a small county under Julu County in Jizhou, and it is inconspicuous. However, Jizhou has suffered from banditry. Although it is far less severe than that in Yu and Qingzhou, it is normal for the people to be displaced after many years.

Normally, many years after the Yellow Turban Army was defeated and several years after the Black Mountain Army was pacified, it still has not recovered. It cannot be said that there are thousands of miles of bare land, but there are dozens of miles of deserted areas.

After a long silence, Liu Bian reined in the horse's head and said, "How many are there in Lieren County?"

Huangfu Jianchang didn't answer because he didn't know.

Liu Bian also didn't know that although he had the "Household Registration" memorial from Jizhou last time, it only contained counties, not counties.

Judging from the current situation, there will not be many people in the county.

"Let's go."

Liu Bian rode his horse again, looked not far away and said, "Let's spend the night in Lieren County."

Zhao Yun and Huangfu Jianzhang responded to the order and began to make urgent arrangements.

By the time Liu Bian arrived at Liren County, it was already dark, and the originally closed city gate was still opened.

A group of people came to a restaurant that had been paid with a lot of money and settled here for the time being.

Standing at the window, Liu Bian looked at the deserted street and asked curiously: "Is this a curfew, or are there just not many people?"

Huangfu Jian said: "Sir, according to the news from the guards, there are still many people there during the day."

"Okay, let's rest today and go out for a walk tomorrow." Liu Bian didn't pay too much attention.

Huangfu Jian looked at Liu Bian's profile and said, "Your Majesty, will Wei Chen bring that surprise over tomorrow?"

Liu Bian hummed and said, "Okay, pay attention to what's going on in Bingzhou, and report any news immediately."

Wu Jing is the newly appointed pastor of Bingzhou, and Cao Cao has also left. Liu Bian's eyes have never left Bingzhou as the banner of the 'New Deal'.

"Yes." Huangfu Jianzhang responded, then quietly retreated.

Liu Bian looked at the sparse moonlight, holding the teacup, and kept thinking in his mind.

The situation in the Han Dynasty was much more serious than he expected. Bad governance cannot be simply abolished. The consequences of bad governance need to be corrected with clear lessons and strict laws, and it will not be just a short while, but will take years or even dozens of years. It changes slowly over the years.

"Sometimes, it's easier to just break and rebuild than to repair..."

Liu Bian couldn't help but sigh softly.

The current situation of the Han Dynasty is actually somewhere in between. The Han Dynasty was almost destroyed. Although Guo Zuo was preserved, almost every place was beaten to pieces, but it was not a matter of overthrowing and starting over. The imperial court declined, and the aristocratic families lost their fortunes. It was highlighted that under the circumstances, the prestige of the imperial court fell to an unprecedented level, and aristocratic families from various places evolved into "de facto princes".

These "de facto princes", large and small, were entrenched in every place on the map of the Han Dynasty, and controlled almost all power in politics, economy, land, talents, youth, etc.

After Liu Bian succeeded to the throne, he began to implement the "New Deal" with the purpose of restoring order. However, in the difficult situation at that time, it only played the role of "maintaining stability".

"It's been six years..." Liu Bian looked at the gray sky, his eyes like stars, and said to himself: "Everything is ready, it just depends on my determination..."

In six years, Liu Bian solved many problems. The imperial power was strengthened, the national strength was restored, the glory of the Han Dynasty was looming, and the argument that "the Han Dynasty is coming to an end" gradually disappeared - the time has come!
Silent all night.

Early the next morning, Liu Bian was dressed neatly and took Dian Wei, Zhao Yun and Huangfu Jianchang for a walk on the streets of Lieren County.

"It does have some popularity."

Liu Bian observed both sides of the road. There were many open shops and people were coming and going, which was quite lively.

Huangfu Jianchang did not dare to say anything. He went to investigate yesterday and found that there were less than a thousand households left in Lieren County, which means that in a county, there are no more than three to five thousand people at most.

Jizhou is a populous state, and such figures are really shocking.

After wandering around for a while, Liu Bian found that people from the shops on both sides of the street were flocking in one direction from time to time, all carrying gifts in their hands, making it very lively.

Not long after, Liu Bian discovered that the shops on both sides suddenly closed, as if they had been agreed upon, and the owners, large and small, hurried to the road ahead with gifts.

It didn't take long for the shops in half the street to be closed, and the people coming and going disappeared.

Half the street is empty!

Liu Bian looked ahead and couldn't help but asked curiously: "What are those people doing?"

"Let's go and have a look." Before Huangfu Jian could say anything, Liu Bian was already very interested and strode over.

Dian Wei and Zhao Yun immediately followed, and were closely surrounded by plainclothes guards not far away.

As I walked forward, I found that more and more people were crowding in, blocking a road.

Liu Bian looked at the mansion not far away, vaguely seeming as to where these people were running to. Just when he was about to ask, he heard conversations not far away one after another, which became more lively.

"Look, that's a member of the Langya Wang family..."

"That one seems to be from the Zhen family in Zhongshan..."

"The Chen family in Taishan, the Han family in Changshan, the Dong family in Chenliu..."

In fact, there are many more, because they are too vague or Liu Bian has no impression at all, but there are more than ten famous families in Hebei, Yanzhou and Qingzhou.

Liu Bian stood not far away, watching quietly, very curious in his heart, who and what happened disturbed the whole street?
Huangfu Jianchang quietly came to his side and whispered: "Sir, it's Mrs. Qiao who celebrates his birthday, and aristocratic families from all over the world come to congratulate him."

Liu Bian raised his eyebrows, glanced at him from the corner of his eye, and said, "Is it that Qiao?"

Huangfu Jianchang seemed to know which 'Qiao' Liu Bian was asking about, and nodded: "Yes."

Liu Bian pondered, and just about to speak, a young man stretched his head, looked Liu Bian up and down with a cold expression, and said angrily: "I said, which family are you from? Did you come here empty-handed? Isn't it embarrassing? ?”

Liu Bian looked at him, then smiled and said: "People passing by saw the excitement, so I came to take a look."

The young man's eyes suddenly opened wide, as if he had discovered something incredible, and said loudly: "What? Are you just watching the excitement? Do you know that today is the eightieth birthday of Mr. Qiao? You don't want to give a gift to celebrate his birthday, but you still dare to come? Watching the fun, tell me, which family do you come from? I have to come and ask your parents how they taught you!"

Liu Bian was startled, what happened to this man?

"Young man, hurry up and buy gifts, it's still not too late!"

"Yes, go quickly. If you can make Mr. Qiao happy, you will have a rich future!"

"Why are you still standing there? It looks like what you are wearing is not from an ordinary family. Doesn't Mr. Qiao even know that?"

The onlookers resented the lack of steel, and some even came over to pull Liu Bian away.

Dian Wei immediately took a step forward, his eyes widened, and scared away all those approaching.

Seeing Dian Wei, the original young man knew that Liu Bian was not to be trifled with, so he snorted coldly and said: "Good intentions are just like the heart and lungs of a donkey. You don't know how to cherish the great future in front of you. I really don't know how your parents taught you!" "

Liu Bian originally had a "playing in the world" mentality. Seeing the young man mentioning his parents again and again, he couldn't help but feel angry. He kicked him directly and said, "Think about why I kicked you!"

The young man was caught off guard. With an ouch, he was kicked to the ground. He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly got up and shouted: "Okay, okay, you dare to kick me. Today I will let you know how many eyes Lord Ma has! Someone, Come here and beat me to death!"

Not far away, at the door of Qiao's house, more than a dozen servants suddenly poured out, holding big sticks and rushing over menacingly.

The leading strong man looked particularly angry and shouted: "Whoever dares to bully Mr. Pretender, beat me!"

Seeing this, Dian Wei and Zhao Yun stepped forward to block Liu Bian. The plainclothes guards not far away quietly came around, with part of the short crossbow on their arm exposed.

"All right!"

Suddenly, a middle-aged man appeared at the door. He stared at Liu Bian with a cold face and said, "I don't know which family you come from to be so ignorant, but today is the old lady's birthday, so I won't argue with you. Let's go. ”

When the servants who were originally aggressive heard this, they snorted coldly at Liu Bian and turned back with big sticks in hand.

The young man who was kicked touched his chest and said angrily: "You will go far away today!"

Liu Bian ignored this, looked up at the door of Qiao's house, touched his chin, and said, "Second Young Master, do you think we should also go celebrate your birthday?"

Huangfu Jianzhang looked around, stepped forward and whispered: "Sir, there are many people here, and the secret guards can't get in, so it's better not to go in."

Liu Bian smashed his mouth and said: "That's true. But we can't let it go like this. You can find a way to get the gifts that Mr. Qiao received this time to show me. On your birthday, aristocratic families from all over the world will come to see you. Even though I came here, half the street was empty, which is amazing..."

(End of this chapter)