The great man will live forever

Chapter 219 The people can only choose to believe
When Wang Mang first came to power, many people still had high hopes for his rule.They believed that Wang Mang was the emperor elected by the people and could bring a bright future to the country.

The main reason is that the later emperors of the Western Han Dynasty were too bad. They reused their relatives and eunuchs and made the court a mess. Generally speaking, the people are very tolerant of the upper class, unless they are forced to eat Guanyin soil or sell their sons and daughters.

Otherwise, even if they often go hungry, they would just tighten their belts and not speak ill of the emperor. Instead, they look forward to a good harvest next year.

This is also a kind of helplessness, because the common people can only choose to believe in the emperor. Before the feudal system is cut off, the common people believe that there must be a ruler to rule the people.

But the rulers hold power and implement a hereditary system. If the people object, they will risk beheading or even annihilating the nine tribes to rebel, and the probability of success is extremely small, so they can usually only hope that the person who rules them is a good person.

If not, there is no other way but to hope that he will change his ways, or that he will be in poor health and die early, and that he will be replaced by a better one.They did not dare to resist, so they could only try to comfort themselves by portraying the emperor as a person who had done his best.

After all, no matter how bad the system is, it is better than no system at all.

The reality is like this, cold and cruel. All living beings are sometimes very great. They often promote the development of history, but most of the time, they are like ants, swept into the dust...

However, what they did not expect was that Wang Mang's rule was like a meteor streaking across the sky, short and tragic.

To mark the beginning of a new dynasty, Wang Mang carried out large-scale reforms to the court's institutions and official positions based on Confucian classics.

In terms of central official positions, he renamed Da Si Nong to Xi He, and later changed it to Na Yan, Dali to Zuo Shi, Taichang to Zhizong, Da Honglu to Dian Yue, and Shaofu to Gong. work……

Shuiheng Duwei was changed to Yu Yu, Guang Luxun was changed to Sizhong, Taipu was changed to Taiyu, Weiwei was changed to Taiwei, Zhijinwu was changed to Fenwu, and Lieutenant was changed to Junzheng.

At the same time, he also changed the names of local official positions: the prefect was changed to Dayin (or soldier, company leader), the captain was changed to Taiwei, and the county magistrate (chief) was changed to Zai.

In addition, Wang Mang also created many new official positions.In the central government, the Great Sima Siyun, the Great Situ Sizhi, and the Great Sikong Siruo were established. These three official positions were listed as Jiuqing;

A large official was also set up to be in charge of the public service and military affairs, and later the army, with the official position of high minister. At the same time, five officials were set up, including Sigong, Sicong, Siming, Si Cong and Si Rui.

In local areas, the state has established deputy pastoral officials, and the county has established deputy supervisors.

However, these reforms did not bring better development to the country. On the contrary, they made the government more complex and led to conflicts and confusion among officials.

Forget it, he changed his name to what some officials should be called. The problem is that he began drastic reforms, trying to achieve his concept of governing the country and peace of the world by restoring the Zhou ritual system of the Western Zhou Dynasty, so he began to imitate the system of the Zhou Dynasty. The New Deal is known in history as "Wang Mang's Reform".

The first is Wu Jun Liu Guan. This name was coined by Liu Xiu, who is now a great scholar in the world. He came up with it based on the ancient scriptures "Zhou Li" and "Le Yu".

We all pay attention to people. At that time, the whole country in the new dynasty was immersed in the beautiful longing for "reforming from ancient times". Since it is a retro style, let's go to the ancient times, be more thorough, and the name must be retro.

A good horse needs a good saddle, and a good name is very important.

Wang Mang's rationale was to limit the excessive exploitation of farmers by businessmen and stop the rampant activities of loan sharks.

Regardless of whether others believe it or not, Liu Xiu [Liu Xin] who came up with this name believes it and continues to support it.

The name has been chosen, the purpose has been spread, and then measures must be taken!

The specific measures can be seen from the four words "five uniforms and six managements". Uniform can be understood as meaning balance and regulation;
Guantongguan, which means management and control, together means regulation in five aspects and management in six aspects.

Wujun was to regulate the market prices of five livelihood necessities that were necessary for the people at that time: famous mountains and rivers, salt, iron, money, and cloth.

In order to prevent the evil bureaucratic landlord class from hoarding materials and driving up prices, the new imperial court uniformly determined the market prices of the above-mentioned materials.

If the transaction price is higher than the market price set by the government, the court will intervene and the transaction will be conducted at the prescribed market price.

If the transaction price is lower than the market price set by the court, everyone can trade freely. Anyway, it can only be lower, not higher, to benefit the people.

In addition, in order to prevent everyone from having financial difficulties during market transactions, the imperial court also prepared sufficient funds to lend to everyone at any time. The interest was not high, and sometimes no interest was required. Therefore, "Wujun" was also called "Wujun credit loan" ".

The six managements meant that the new imperial court forcibly controlled six types of economic undertakings, that is, they were state-run, including famous mountains and rivers, salt, iron, money, cloth, and wine.

Wujun was engaged in a "pilot system" at that time. There were six cities in the pilot area, called Wujun City, and an official position was established to specifically manage market transactions, called Wujun Division City Master.

Although other counties and counties are not included in the key pilot scope, they must keep up with the pace and situation and establish the post of city director, which is generally held concurrently by local officials.

The city divisions of the six pilot cities and the divisions and divisions of other counties and counties are collectively referred to as city officials.Under the city master, there are five trading ministers, also known as Junguan; and one Qianfu Cheng, also known as Qianfuguan, who are respectively in charge of average prices, tax collection and credit matters.

The six major cities are Chang'an, Luoyang, Handan, Linzi, Wancheng and Chengdu.

Chang'an is the economic center of Guanzhong, Luoyang and Wancheng are the economic centers of the Central Plains, Handan is the economic center of Hebei, Linzi is the economic center of Qilu, and Chengdu is the economic center of the Chengdu Plain.They covered almost all the economically developed sectors of the new dynasty at that time.

This was Wang Mang's first reform, and he worked non-stop on the second one. Even today, it is quite explosive. That was the currency reform. He carried out it several times, and the design was exquisite. The peak of Chinese coin art.

He carried out a total of four reforms. Because the frequency of reforms was too high and the efficiency of the reforms was low, the people had not adapted to the previous reform, and then new currencies flowed into the market.

The old currency was mixed with the new currency, seriously disrupting the market order.

Because Wang Mang failed to correctly set the currency denomination and circulation quantity when reforming the currency, the phenomenon of inflation became more and more serious. In the past, rice and noodles only cost a few dollars, but in the later period, gold was required to purchase them...

After the economy was finished, he began to deal with land and people. He changed the world's fields to be called king's fields, and private individuals were not allowed to buy and sell them. He changed slaves to "private owners" and were not allowed to buy or sell them.

Then he changed the names of ethnic minorities and the titles of their leaders, adjusted the division of counties and counties, changed official names and place names, and became a veritable name-changing maniac.

Wang Mang even sent a special envoy to inform Wu Zhuliu Ruotian Chanyu that the Han Dynasty had issued such an order. He suggested that you should set an example and change it to a single name. The Han Dynasty would repay you with huge rewards.

Do you think this is the end?Compared with the late Western Han Dynasty, the number of counties in Xinmang increased from 106 to 116, with additions and changes, and a total of 91 county names were changed; the number of counties increased from 1587 to 1585, and a total of 730 counties changed their names.

During the reign of Emperor Di Huang, Wang Mang changed his name to the point of madness. "Every year he changed his name again and again, one county to five changed its name, and then returned to the original name, the officials and the people could not discipline it."

In the fourth year of the founding of the People's Republic of China (AD 12), Wang Mang sent troops to attack the rebellious Goguryeo and achieved a major military victory. Wang Mang was very happy and issued an imperial edict after rewarding the generals:
"Yes, I ordered you to send fierce generals to carry out heaven's punishment and kill the captives. They were divided into twelve groups. They might cut off their right arm, cut off their left armpit, or collapse their chest and abdomen, or both sides. This year's punishment is In the east, the troops to kill the raccoons were the first to move. Capture and kill the captives, pacify the eastern region, and know that the captives were destroyed in Lukeng. This is the blessing of the gods of heaven and earth, the gods, and the ancestral temple. The ministers, officials, scholars and the people will lead the tigers with one heart. He is so powerful. I highly commend him. He changed his name from Gaojuli to Xiajuli and announced it to the world so that everyone would know about it."

Eight counties in Bingzhou were changed: Shangjun was changed to Zengshan County; Xihe County was changed to Guixin County; Shuofang County was changed to Goosou County; Wuyuan County was changed to a surrendered county; Yunzhong County was changed to a surrendered county; Dingxiang County was changed to a surrendered county; Yanmen County is called Filli County; Dai County is called Yandi County...

Good guy, I'm either changing my name, or I'm on the way to change my name.

This was not the end, probably due to obsessive-compulsive disorder, he discovered that there were Beihai County, Nanhai County, and Donghai County in the country, but only the West Sea was missing. In order to make up these "four seas".

Wang Mang spared his troops and sent out troops to occupy the land around Qinghai Lake and establish Xihai County.And in order to make this wasteland resemble a county, he even forced immigration, so he added fifty draconian laws, so as to add thousands of criminals to meet the needs of immigrants.

For this Xihai County, Wang Mang incurred the initial dissatisfaction.He downgraded the rulers of the Xiongnu, Goguryeo, Western Regions, Southwest Yi and other vassal states that had originally submitted to the Han Dynasty from their original "kings" to "hous".

Wang Mang took the initiative to provoke unnecessary disputes and rashly decided to use force, which not only led to border conflicts, but also trapped hundreds of thousands of troops on the border for a long time, unable to escape, consuming a lot of manpower and material resources, and causing endless wars on the border...

After this operation, there was first a short-term prosperity, false prosperity, and then a rapid decline.

On this day, the Weiyang Palace was now transformed into a new palace by Wang Mang. Wang Mang stood and looked at the map at his feet. The territory of the Han Dynasty was painted on it, and the names of counties and counties were written on it. The map was very big.

"Which place are you going to rename today?"

"How about setting up the Eastern Capital in Luoyang, changing the Henan County where Luoyang is located to Baozhongxin County, and changing the six counties of Nanyang, Hanoi, Yingchuan, Hongnong, Hedong, and Xingyang into the Six Yuzhou Teams, which are the Front Team, the Back Team, and the Left Team. , Right Team, Zhao Team, Qi Team?”

He looked at the map and murmured to himself, sighing in his heart: "Wang Mang in history was also annoying, changing his name every now and then. The wine pools and meat forests are so good, I can still enjoy it. For the sake of longevity, just be patient, there will be more in the future Enjoy time. Every time you experience death, you feel that immortality is more precious. I just follow the history, show it, show it, you have to come and kill me early."

The Liu Xiu he was talking about at this time was only 15 years old. He had just finished farming and was riding an ox home.

15-year-old Liu Xiu is an adolescent boy with a gradually growing stature and a height of about 1.7 meters, which is slightly taller than his peers.His body lines still looked a little thin, but his muscles began to gradually show solid strength.

He has a pair of bright eyes, revealing intelligence and perseverance.The eyes are deep, like two stars, with a hint of alertness and observation. The eyes are calm, calm and firm, as if they have seen everything in the world.

Liu Xiu's face is relatively delicate, and the outline is not yet fully mature. Her eyebrows are long and straight, slightly raised, exuding a sense of confidence and optimism. Her nose is straight and straight, slightly compact, giving people a firm feeling.

His hair is dark and shiny, slightly curly, and he usually wears it below his ears.Sometimes, he would put a shiny accessory in his hair to add a sense of handsomeness and solemnity to his whole look.

Liu Xiu's lips were slightly thick. When they were tightly closed, they revealed determination and firmness. When they were slightly raised, they revealed his sunny smile, and his jawline was soft.

Usually he will wear a set of light clothes, such as a linen shirt and loose trousers, showing a simple yet youthful style, mainly for the convenience of work.

"Uncle, I'm back."

As soon as he came back, he put the cow in the pen, gave her grass to eat, water to drink, and stroked the cow's head.

"Ah Huang, Ah Huang, it's hard for you again today."

After the cow drank the water, he stuck out his tongue and licked him, and he touched his horns.The sun shines through and it is very warm.

"I'm back. I don't want to farm this land. It's not like my uncle can't support you, so he still wants you to be so busy?"

That was a man in his 30s, with an elegant appearance. He was Liu Liang, Liu Xiu's uncle. During the period of Emperor Ping of the Western Han Dynasty, he was elected as Xiaolian by counties and counties. He served as the magistrate of Xiao County, but Wang Mang established the new dynasty. , his county magistrate was thrown off.

In 3 AD (the third year of the Yuan Dynasty), Liu Liang's elder brother Liu Qin passed away. His sons Liu Yan, Liu Zhong, and Liu Xiu were all still young and could not stand on their own. Liu Liang, as his uncle, took on the responsibility of raising them and took good care of them. very good.

Of course, Liu Yan, Liu Zhong, and Liu Xiu are now used to living in his house sometimes.

"Isn't that freeloading? And now the new dynasty is doing five equal parts and six tubes. To put it nicely, it turns out that salt and iron are just as much as they say? The savings in the past will always be stretched to support a large family. of……"

Liu Liang was slightly angry, "Why are you freeloading? Our family has to divide it between you and me? That's all, you can farm the land if you want."

At this time, a tall man about 25 years old came back. He was Liu Xiu's eldest brother Liu Yan, "Uncle, I'm back."

"Here, let me introduce to you. This man's name is Fatty Liu. He is a heroic hero. He used to be famous in Xindu."

Today, Fatty Liu is 28 years old. He is no longer as fat as before, and his face has a more serious look of vicissitudes of life. His eldest brother and second brother are dead. After many years of investigation, the Taoist priest could not find out. He only knew that they were related to Wang Mang.

His best friend and true love Xiaocui died. He knew that Wang Mang did it and the Taoist priest could not find it, so he wanted to kill Wang Mang or get information about the Taoist priest from him.

To kill Wang Mang, it would be best to find a backer or someone who also hates Wang Mang. After some inquiries, he found out that there was also a Liu Shi clan in Nanyang, a former imperial clan with true Erba classics, so he took refuge with Liu Xiu's eldest brother.

Before coming to seek refuge, he made special inquiries and thought about it carefully. After all, Brother Liu Xiu's background was not particularly ordinary.

In the fourth year of the Yuan Dynasty (47 BC), Liu Mai's grandson Liu Ren, Xiaohou of Chongling, wrote to Emperor Xiaoyuan Liu Shi, requesting that Lingling County be moved to the north because of its cold terrain and frequent miasma.

Emperor Xiaoyuan agreed to Liu Ren's request and asked him to lead most of the people of the Chongling Kingdom to move north to Baishui Township, Caiyang County, Nanyang County, build a city here, and then establish the Chongling Kingdom.

Liu Ren's younger brother Liu Li, cousin Liu Hui and other clan members also moved north with their families, and then lived and multiplied in Nanyang, forming the flourishing Chongling clan.

Liu Hui was the grandfather of the Liu Xiu brothers. About 60 years after the Chongling children lived in Nanyang, Wang Mang established a new dynasty on behalf of the Han Dynasty. At this time, all the clans surnamed Liu lost their royal status and became commoners.

Originally, Liu Xiu's uncle, or other capable Liu Shi clan members, could be appointed as county magistrates, but now they are no longer available.

However, the Chongling Liu family has become a local wealthy family in Nanyang. It has been married to other wealthy families for many years. It is not an ordinary family without any foundation. In short, it is a humble family, but not too cold.

Just talking about Liu Xiu's mother's family is not simple. His mother's name is Fan Xiandu, and his maternal grandfather Fan Zhong has a gentle and kind temperament and is very particular about the rules in doing things.

The Fan family has not divided the family for three generations, and the property has always been shared. It is said that the descendants respect each other, and the family always pays attention to etiquette like the government.

Fan Zhong also managed the family's property very well, without any loss or waste. He used servants and helpers to make the best use of them, so the family could work together, and the property and profits doubled every year.

At present, he owns more than [-] hectares of farmland. The houses he built are all high-rise buildings, surrounded by Pi canals. He also raises fish and livestock. When poor and urgent people in the village ask for help, they are generally satisfied.

They were one of the top wealthy families in the local area, with huge power and a good reputation. When someone committed crimes near Nanyang, most of them fled to the Fan family to beg for asylum, but local officials did not dare to come and arrest them.

Fatty Liu, a particularly powerful member of the Liu Shi clan, came to visit, but he probably wouldn't want him, so he chose Liu Xiu's eldest brother.

Liu Yan's personality is completely different from Liu Xiu's. He is resolute, generous and restrained.Since Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, he was always angry, worried about restoring the country, neglected his family and business, went bankrupt, made friends with heroes in the world, and often protected heroes, so Fatty Liu chose him, thinking that he had a chance to overthrow Wang Mang.

Of course, it's just an opportunity, but whenever there is a chance, Fatty Liu will always fight for it, for Xiao Cui and for his eldest and second brothers.

　You're probably too full. What do you want to do in this life?How to live meaningfully?Whenever you are free or in the dead of night, this voice will keep asking you questions, and you will feel confused...

　　People can only do things within their own capabilities. As long as you accept this fact and deal with it all with an optimistic attitude, everything else will not matter. I hope everyone can shine their own light and find the person they like. , do what you like!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)