Lord Yuan

Chapter 218 Liu Hong, Huangfu Song
"Oh, does Huangfu Zhonglang have this kind of backbone? Since he is not afraid of death, what's the difficulty in living? Since Your Majesty has no further pursuit, why do you have to go up and make His Majesty look bad? Can't you see it? Your Majesty is around You are all treacherous and sycophantic, you are just asking for trouble."

After saying that, Yuan Shao looked at Cao Cao in particular. In his opinion, although Cao Cao was a little too enthusiastic, he always dealt with things step by step and followed the rules. He came to see His Majesty shirtless. Without thinking, he would know that he was a gentleman. What result.

"Alas." Huangfu Song, who seemed to have been stabbed in a sore spot but still had his integrity, sighed, and he didn't know what the Weiwei said.

In the court, not only Zhang Rang, but also Zhao Zhong and other eunuchs acted rampantly, and there were also many villains. Looking around the bustling court, there were not many good ministers in sight.

Huangfu Song can be regarded as a staunch royalist.

His uncle Huangfu Gui was also a famous general of the Han Dynasty and one of the Three Ming Dynasties in Liangzhou. Under the protection of the emperor, the entire family was able to return to the court after his uncle's death.

It can be said that without Liu Hong, the current Huangfu family would not know where to survive.

Therefore, Huangfu Song has always been indifferent to the gossip in the court, even if the reputation is one-sided.

Now, it’s a critical time for the king and his ministers to rise up.

Although Liu Hong's various actions were regarded by later generations as the key to the beginning of the disaster, even Zhuge Wuhou said that the sins of the Han Dynasty were solely due to Emperor Huan Ling, but just as there are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of 1000 people, Huangfu Song's Liu Hong's senses were quite different.

Therefore, when Yuan Shao said that the court was full of treacherous villains, Huangfu Song sighed.

As a military commander, he was destined to not be able to always accompany the king like those civil servants, but it often took a month or even longer to say something.

"Let's not talk about this anymore." Huangfu Song put away his expression, his face was solemn, and he raised his hands above his head and saluted Yuan Shao.

After the ceremony, Huangfu Song reluctantly showed a smile.

"This time the yellow scarf ants besieged Luoyang, all the guards made careful decisions and strategized, so that Luoyang would not be like the miserable situation in Yingchuan. What's more, I got to see a brave general like General Zhao. I have no regrets."

Zhu Jun behind him nodded in agreement when he heard this.

Obviously, Zhao Yun's outstanding performance has completely conquered the hearts of these military generals.

Zhao Yun is quite young now, but he has already performed like this before reaching his peak. As long as he does not die prematurely in the future, he will definitely become a famous general of the Han Dynasty.

Yuan Shao shook his head.

"To tell you the truth, His Majesty no longer intends to hold you accountable for your crimes. Even the edict issued a few days ago has become invalid."

Huangfusong's pupils shrank slightly, not knowing why.

"Why did the Weiwei say this? Are those traitors willing to give up like this?"

"Let me ask the general Zhonglang a question first."

"What words? But there's no harm in saying it!"

"When you demolished those residential buildings, did you already have such an outcome in mind, so most of the luxury buildings you demolished were built by those people?"

Huangfusong was stunned for a moment. He thought that no one would be able to discover the little trick he deliberately concealed. In order to make this matter invisible and to continue to implement this method in the future, he chose to demolish a mansion and accordingly If an ordinary Li common house is demolished, the compensation for the demolished house will be taken out of one's own salary at that time.

Gradually, the number of luxury houses demolished has reached close to a hundred. It can be said that without Huangfusong's persistence, Luoyang East Gate really doesn't know whether it can persist for such a long time.

The biggest weapons in defending the city were the wooden piles supporting the beams and the boulders laying the foundation. It can be said that during this war, nearly ten thousand Yellow Turbans ended their lives alive in this way.

"To be honest, as Wei Wei said, although I cannot speak to His Majesty, nor can I make the court appear as peaceful as Hai Qing He Yan, but it is not difficult to use some small means."

Huangfu Song's performance also greatly exceeded Yuan Shao's expectations.

After Yuan Shao explained, he allowed Huangfu Song and others to stride into the deep palace without looking back. Under the guidance of the chamberlain, several people jumped in. Liu Hong, who had just sent Yuan Shao away, saw Huangfu Song and others again. , a trace of surprise suddenly appeared on his face.

"Sir, what's the matter?"

In fact, Liu Hong didn't have much prejudice against Huangfu Song, and even treated him quite favorably. His uncle had served as the first emperor in two dynasties, and he was very kind and powerful. His strong attitude towards foreigners made Liu Hong very happy, so he loved Wujiwu. Emperor Fu Songlie was like his uncle. He had previously decided to make him into a court official, but he actually showed some attitude to show those people.

Huangfu Song was not good at communicating with others, but his ability to make decisions on the battle situation was absolutely at the level of famous generals in the late Han Dynasty.

In the first wave of attacks against the Yellow Turbans, Zhu Jun was defeated first, and Huangfu Song even turned defeat into victory and won a big victory against the Yellow Turbans.

"Come to plead guilty!"

Huangfu Song's face was solemn, and he was a little unsure about Liu Hong's attitude.

Fortunately, Yuan Shao had already greeted him in advance, so Huangfu Song was not so nervous yet.

But Zhu Jun and Cao Cao, who were following behind him, suddenly broke out in cold sweat on their foreheads.

After all, Liu Hong is the current emperor of the Han Dynasty. Just sitting there lazily, he has an aura of calmness and self-power. Cao Cao even dared to lower his head timidly, not daring to look at him at all.

"Oh? What is your crime?" Liu Hong pretended to be confused and surprised.

"In order to resist the Yellow Turban bandits, I caused all the residences of many courtiers to be demolished. I am naturally guilty."

"How many have been demolished?"

"No less than a hundred buildings!"

Even though Liu Hong was fully prepared, he was also shocked by these words. He slowly raised his head and stared at Huangfu Song in front of him. Unexpectedly, Huangfu Song was not afraid and looked directly at each other.

"You really put me in a difficult situation."

Liu Hong sighed, and then said: "No wonder many ministers in the court always came to me and wrote letters for several days to punish you."

As if to confirm what he said, Liu Hong deliberately took out a piece of the memorial in front of him and let Huangfu Song take a look at it.

"How do you feel?"

Huangfusong hesitated for a while, thinking about what tone to use to answer.

Of course he knew that what he said in the letter was true, and he didn't add any exaggeration to it.

But he just couldn't stand these corpse eaters who were running rampant in the countryside, feeding the common people, and also wanted to gain a reputation. It can be said that a large part of the reason why the bustling common people in the Han Dynasty became the Yellow Turban Bandits was due to these people. hand.

Where do thousands of acres of fertile farmland come from?There are many mansions in the family, and they are built everywhere as if they don't need money. While they make themselves rich, they make the common people hungry, and they even use clever words and coaxing to cooperate with local officials to rob and take away the livelihood of the common people from the hands of these common people. Book.

Doing so is tantamount to completely pushing these common people to the edge of rebellion.

But Huangfu Song naturally couldn't explain these things clearly. In that case, wouldn't it mean that His Majesty is ignorant of people and condones officials' extortionate taxation?
The taxation that the Han Dynasty had always implemented in the past was thirty to one tax, which meant that the grain produced in the fields needed to be delivered to the local county government according to these proportions. After being inspected at all levels, it was uniformly sent to Luoyang. The central court came to distribute the money, and the Han court was able to operate smoothly. A large part of the reason was due to these taxes.

However, even the enlightener who started to implement this policy, Emperor Xiaowen of the Han Dynasty, Liu Heng, did not completely implement this policy. There are still many clauses such as fifteen taxes and one tax circulating among the people. In line with that sentence, there is a policy , there are countermeasures below.

Liu Heng's starting point is good, but once it involves the interests of certain people, they will find many loopholes in these rules and regulations, and then begin to seek their own interests.

In that era when the people were rich and abundant, it was impossible to do it, let alone Liu Hong's period.

Originally, the amount of taxation was already overwhelming. In this case, there was also a similar tax, which refers to the tax that adult men and women need to pay. Each person has to pay a calculation every year, which is 120 yuan. In the Han Dynasty, Farming has always been emphasized and business has been suppressed, so the taxes that merchants, slaves, etc. need to pay have been doubled.

There is also a level that every adult man needs to go through, force labor. As it is said, it requires strength. Adult men and women have one month every year to work for local government agencies for free.

Similar to military service and so on, it can be said that although the Han Dynasty was people-oriented, under the background of this general environment, people's treatment was actually far from improved to the level imagined.

Once war breaks out, the first to suffer are the farmers who have no time to rest and work all day long in the fields. After all, the food in the fields is related to their livelihoods on the one hand, and on the other hand it involves their needs. The taxes paid come and go, and the high-ranking officials and dignitaries in the court are greedy and suck them to their heart's content. They don't care whether you can eat one meal and the next.

In fact, Huangfusong saw the essential reasons for the Yellow Turban riots very clearly.

But seeing it clearly and whether it can be solved are two completely different directions.

"These court ministers have gone too far!" Huangfu Song sighed and whispered.Liu Hong snorted and asked again: "Do you think they shouldn't impeach?"

"As a courtier, you should report all the injustices you find to His Majesty. There is nothing wrong with this."

"In that case, why would you take such a self-destructive step? Who knows how many pairs of eyes in the palace are staring at you at this time."

"I would like to ask, among the officials serving in Luoyang in our dynasty, is there any one who can build a mansion and purchase furniture with more than his salary per year?"

Liu Hong thought for a while and began to calculate with both hands.

Huangfu Song didn't give Liu Hong time to think, and immediately said, "Except for the three gongs and nine ministers, your majesty has given special gifts, which makes his status, salary, and power higher than other officials. Officials of this level Even though it is impossible to move to a new house just by relying on salary, and there are countless people below this official position in our court, there are no less than a thousand mansions and pavilions in the capital of Luoyang. Can't your Majesty see these things? "

Liu Hong can certainly see that relying on the simple salary level of these people, they may not be able to achieve what they are now in three or even five years. It can be said that four to five out of ten officials in the DPRK and China have similar corruption phenomena.

Regarding this, Liu Hong turned a blind eye. Anyway, people will naturally send money in a steady stream. As for where the money comes from, that is not within the scope of his concern.

If this leads to people's anger and resentment, Liu Hong will have the opportunity to establish his majesty as emperor, punish corrupt officials, and transfer all their money to the treasury. Corrupt officials who have violated the law will be beheaded by Liu Hong, and by the way Gained the admiration of Li Shu.

It can be said that one arrow can do many incredible things.

Huangfu Song is not in his position.But I can't find anything fishy about it yet.

Seeing that Liu Hong didn't seem surprised by this, Huangfusong was shocked. His Majesty really knew.

But why not do it?
"You are worrying too much. They are all good ministers of my great Han Dynasty. Just as you are in charge of the outside world, they are in charge of the inside. The two complement each other and naturally everyone is happy. You don't need to say more. Most of these memorials are to impeach you. Wait." Liu Hong grabbed one and then flung it outward lightly, letting the memorials fall to the ground.

Huangfu Song didn't understand what he meant, and Zhu Jun and Cao Cao naturally didn't understand either.

Several people were still shirtless, but Liu Hong didn't mind. Speaking of which, this was the first time he had seen such a full picture of people discussing matters in court since he became emperor.

"Your Majesty, can this be the end of it?" Seeing that Your Majesty seemed to be partial to Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun immediately took a step forward and reported: "They slandered General Beizhong Lang and our determination to resist the enemy. Could it be that Your Majesty has the heart to give in?" Are we going to do this so hastily? I think even the Cavalry Commander feels it is inappropriate, and many officers and soldiers in the army are quite vocal about this."

Before Zhu Jun finished speaking, Huangfu Song on the side quickly interrupted him and explained to Liu Hong: "The words of General You Zhonglang are a bit serious. Your Majesty does not need to take it to heart."

Liu Hong was rare and not angry. Instead, he asked with interest: "General Zhonglang, do you think I did something wrong?"

Zhu Jun was so angry that he was instantly awakened by Liu Hong's words, and he quickly fell down and accused him again and again.

Liu Hong looked at Cao Cao, the Cavalry Commander again.

"Does your Majesty think so too?"

Cao Cao was frightened and quickly shook his head to explain.

"You guys, Weiwei has told me about your merits more than once, hoping to change or reduce your culpability. Even those officials collectively submitted a letter asking me to make up for their losses, but Weiwei did not. You choose to fight alone and are willing to use all your income over the years to fill the hole. If not, you guys will inevitably have to go to Tingwei."

"what?"

Liu Hong's words instantly shocked several people.

Huangfu Song sighed one after another, and after a long time, he came back to his senses and said feebly: "Your Majesty, Wei Wei's loyalty to the emperor and the country is extremely rare. I only met him once. It can be said that we met by chance. At best, we can be regarded as colleagues. But I didn’t expect that he would be willing to do this in order to prevent us from being wronged. I really feel guilty for your majesty’s great trust!”

Zhu Jun was also the chief inspector: "I am also guilty!"

"I am also guilty!" Cao Cao tilted his head and tried his best to prevent the water droplets from falling from his eyes.

He didn't expect that at this juncture, the three requests he had promised Yuan Shao had not yet been fulfilled. As a result, when he was in crisis, he appeared in a colorful auspicious cloud and solved all the troubles in front of him. He spent his own money to fill the hole. Although Cao Cao relied on his wealth and billions, he stayed away from such a bottomless hole and did not dare to get involved in it at all.

Yuan Shao is still the same Yuan Shao as before.

But he is no longer like the Cao Cao he was before.

Liu Hong was very satisfied with the result. This was what he wanted.

Although this result may have wronged Wei Wei Yuan Shao, Liu Hong thought about it and found no good solution.

"You don't have to be like this. The Weiwei has spoken first. You must completely defeat the Yellow Turban bandits, especially the thief Zhang Jiao. He has caused trouble to the big man and cannot be punished. No matter what, you must capture him as soon as possible, even if it is a corpse. , I also want to see it with my own eyes!"

Huangfu Song was still sighing with emotion. After hearing this, he immediately raised his hands and said excitedly: "I will fulfill my mission. Your Majesty has entrusted me to do so. I will never give up even if I die." When the topic changed, his tone suddenly dropped.

"The Weiwei was obviously the one who contributed the most to this battle, but now he wants to seek benefits for us and other criminals. I really don't know how to thank the Weiwei."

Liu Hong didn't care, it was just a small amount of money. It didn't matter if it wasn't his own money anyway.

He immediately summoned Jian Shuo to get to know them.

"He is from the Xiaohuang Sect. His name is Jian Shuo. You can communicate with him more often. Any news about the war can be passed to my ears through him."

"Xiao Huangmen Jian Shuo has met you all."

After experiencing such a farce, Huangfu Song and others were embarrassed to stay in the palace. From the initial fear, to the later ecstasy, they were two completely different concepts.

And the person who caused such a change had already begun to get on the carriage home.

When Liu Hong mentioned that he had not been home for nearly ten years, his wife, children, and children were all waiting eagerly, not daring to waste a moment. Now, the Yellow Turbans in Yuzhou have almost been wiped out, and the remaining ones are all Shocked by Bo Cai's death and Zhao Yun's long march, they had already scattered and returned to their respective homes.

However, for the sake of safety, Yuan Shao specifically asked Liu Hong for instructions, hoping to allocate a 500-strong guard regiment from Caiweiwei's mansion to avoid encountering Yellow Turban remnants when he returned home.

Although, with the bravery of the white horse Yi Cong and Zhao Yun Blessing, who had been promoted to the village commander by Liu Hong for his military merits, there was basically no danger as long as he did not encounter a large number of yellow scarves.

But after thinking about it, it felt strange that as a guard, the ninth minister in the imperial court, and the absolute commander of the capital's army, it turned out that he had to be protected by his own trained soldiers.

As a result, five hundred elite soldiers of the Weiwei Mansion who were waiting in full formation were mobilized. When they learned that they were to escort the Weiwei, the entire Southern Army officers were excited.

He led the Luoyang defense battle and turned defeat into victory. Various deeds had already spread throughout Luoyang, making Yuan Shao's name resound throughout the capital once again. The last time this situation happened, Yuan Shao was just a small minister and did not have much real power at all. Not to mention, he was labeled as a model in the world.

Now, Yuan Shao truly deserves his title. He can afford this title, and he doesn't have to worry about persecution from powerful officials like Cao Jie.

Even the head of the Ten Constant Attendants has a good relationship with him, and most of the civil and military officials, including the military attachés, highly praise this guard. Many of them even directly reported to His Majesty, requesting that Yuan Shao be sent to He trained soldiers in his army.

As for this situation, Liu Hong always refused.

How could Yuan Shao give such a good handrail to others so easily?

Along the way, there should have been bustling sounds everywhere, but now it seemed unusually quiet. Even the farmers who were supposed to be busy working in the fields with their hoes were nowhere to be seen.

Everywhere looked dilapidated and decayed.

Of course Yuan Shao understood what was happening.

Caused by the lingering power of the Yellow Turban.

None of the so-called peasant uprisings truly provide welfare for the peasants. They are just a standard set of rhetoric. In the name of it, they seek better development and a better life for the common people, but in reality they Once they become successful, the first thing they think of is often how to deal with these low-level commoners.

No one thinks about whether they can eat enough.

Anyway, these high-level leaders who led the uprising have become the next so-called powerful gentry one by one.

It can be called the most perfect reproduction, and then imposes the many humiliations he suffered on those below.

Repeatedly, the biggest problem of the feudal dynasty was the so-called land annexation.

(End of this chapter)