At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 695: The Master of the Han Dynasty and the Abolition of the Feudal State

Seeing Dong Zhongshu silent, Xu Aimin said, "The Indian labor permits should be temporarily suspended. Once the court finds out how many Indian laborers there are in Han, we can make other arrangements."

Xu Aimin still treated his two younger brothers' fiefdoms with preferential treatment. The Han Dynasty purchased the most cash crops such as cotton and tobacco from the Tang Dynasty among all the vassal states, and was also the most open to industrial equipment. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty has always been the best developed among the vassal states in the New World. As for India, they had the most labor permits among all the vassal states.

But Xu Aimin did not allow the Indians to undermine the foundation of his rule.

Dong Zhongshu pleaded with a bitter face: "Your Majesty, please have mercy on the people of India."

The people of India lived such a hard life that even Dong Zhongshu could not bear to see it, but he had no way to redistribute land equally in India. Working outside was the best way out for the lower-class Indian people.

Xu Aimin said: "I am the emperor of the Han Dynasty. I must pay attention to the opinions of the people of the Han Dynasty. If you want to make the people of Tianzhu live a better life, you have to work hard on your own."

Dong Zhongshu thought about it and decided that he could only think of a way to send more laborers to Southeast Asia and Nanzhou. The Han Dynasty had expanded too much territory and there had always been an extreme shortage of labor, especially a few years ago when the princes of the Han Dynasty had established foreign countries. Those three countries were even more barbaric and lacked manpower, but they still had to make achievements. Since they could not attract Han people, they recruited a large number of Indian laborers. However, those vassal states were risky and the returns were not as high as those of the Han Dynasty, so they were not the first choice for Indian laborers.

Dong Zhongshu said: "I want to buy more second-hand cement, coal, steel, machinery, and textile production lines from the Han Dynasty. I also want to raise some funds from the Han Dynasty to develop industry."

Xu Aimin suppressed the corner of his mouth and said: "The court can provide assistance, but whether it can be accomplished depends on your ability."

He had also heard of the reputation of the Indian heroes, but he didn't want to have anything to do with these shameless people.

Dong Zhongshu continued: "I also want to recruit some young talents in the court to help with the reform."

Xu Aimin said: "You can go to the various colleges of the Han Dynasty to recruit or recruit Han officials who are willing to go to India. The court will also release them."

Dong Zhongshu bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will take my leave now."

Chang'an City, Government Affairs College.

After getting the emperor's permission, Dong Zhongshu immediately went to the Political Affairs Academy and found his senior brother Yuan and said, "I'm sorry to bother you this time."

Yuan Gu said: "It's not a big deal, but I'm worried that these students may not be willing to go to Tianzhu."

Dong Zhongshu said: "Hasn't the imperial court always advocated going to difficult places to make achievements? Even Yanzhou has people going there, so why can't Tianzhu be visited?"

Yuan Gu said unhappily, "Going to Yanzhou is also considered to be opening up for the Han Dynasty. There will be a better future in the future. What's the point of going to Tianzhu?"

Dong Zhongshu said: "Brother, you are too realistic. Going to Tianzhu cannot be considered as achieving the Great Harmony. From what I have seen in Tianzhu, Tianzhu actually needs us to change more."

Yuan Gu said: "Of course we have ideals, but we should also take reality into consideration. Our Han Dynasty cannot even say that it has achieved the Great Harmony. How can we push Tianzhu to achieve the Great Harmony? Especially these students, they all have great prospects in the Han Dynasty. As a teacher, I always have to consider their future."

Dong Zhongshu smiled bitterly and said, "Is Tianzhu so unbearable in my senior brother's eyes?"

Yuan Gu said: "The Indians have no integrity and are not trustworthy. This is something that all Han people know."

The Han Dynasty was already an industrialized society, and also a commercial society. Reputation was the main component to reduce communication costs, and even a component of wealth. However, India had only been in a feudal society for a few decades, and the main ruling power in the society was still the feudal nobles. This led to the Indian nobles' love of oppressing others with power and taking pride in seeking benefits through fraud. In addition, the overall social atmosphere lacked the concept of benevolence, righteousness, and morality, and instead worshipped those who could seek benefits.

Even though the Han Dynasty moved some of its nobles to India, it still could not change the overall atmosphere of India. Even the Han Dynasty's nobles were infected and accustomed to such customs. The Han Dynasty's nobles had the highest status in India, and this custom was beneficial to them.

This resulted in even the powerful Han Dynasty only daring to do business in a few major cities in India.

But Yuan Gu thought for a moment and said, "Is there a group of students who might be willing to go to Tianzhu?"

Dong Zhongshu asked, "Who is it?"

Yuan Gu said, "There are a group of officials' descendants in the Political Affairs College. Because their fathers did not retire, their future is limited. If you can provide them with guarantees, they may be willing to go to Tianzhu. It just so happens that the Political Affairs College and the Military and Political College are debating, so you can go and take a look yourself."

After saying that, Yuan Gu brought Dong Zhongshu to a classroom. There were two students debating on the stage, and hundreds of students below were watching the debate with great interest.

"Shang Tang was a minister of the Xia Dynasty. When the monarch was unvirtuous, he should have advised him instead of killing the monarch as a minister. This was a heinous act." Liu Xian from the Military and Political Academy.

Liu Qi of the Political Affairs Academy retorted: "King Jie of Xia was a tyrant, and Tang and Wu's revolution followed the will of Heaven and the will of Man. The ruler ruled the ruler, the minister served the minister, the father served the father, and the son served the son. King Jie of Xia lost his virtue, and a virtuous person in the world can naturally replace him."

Liu Xian said loudly: "According to what you said, if a soldier on the battlefield receives an order that he believes is wrong, he can refuse to execute it, and even lead his troops to counterattack his own commander?"

Liu Qi said calmly: "Is the military order wrong? We need to analyze specific issues specifically, but Xia Jie's cruelty has been recognized for thousands of years."

Liu Xian said: "Then my great Han monarch is immoral, and you must replace him!"

"Eh, eh, eh!" The students below booed. Liu Xian was obviously trying to cheat.

Liu Qi said: "The world does not belong to one family or one surname, but to all people in the world. If a tyrant appears in our Han Dynasty, the people of the Han Dynasty naturally have the right to overthrow the tyranny."

"Pa, pa!" There was applause now. It was obvious that these words were more to the students' liking.

Dong Zhongshu laughed dumbly and said, "Are all the students in our Han Dynasty so courageous now?"

Yuan Gu said calmly: "It's not bravery, I'm just telling the truth. The founding of the Han Dynasty was to defeat the unjust with the righteous. Even the royal family admits that the world belongs to everyone. How can we not allow others to speak out?"

Dong Zhongshu thought to himself, "There are some things that the emperor can say, but the ministers cannot. If the ministers say them, something bad will happen."

Liu Qi continued, "In the past three dynasties, only our Han Dynasty has been the most legitimate. The Emperor Taishang used justice to defeat the unjust and seized the world from the tyrannical Qin Dynasty, ending the hundreds of years of disputes during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. He also restored the family empire since Xia Qi to a public empire. Now we can all proudly say that I am the master of the Han Dynasty."

Liu Qi's final firm tone aroused warm applause and cheers.

Then, under the introduction of Yuan Gu, Liu Qi and Liu Xian got the second generation of disciples. Dong Zhongshu looked at everyone with a smile and said, "Are you interested in changing Tianzhu?"

October 55, 10st year of the Han calendar, Chang'an City, Zhangtai Palace.

The Imperial Censor Zheng Qi, the Chief Justice Chao Cuo, Zhi Du and thirteen other provincial governors were brought to the Zhangtai Palace to meet the emperor.

Xu Aimin walked up to Zhidu, patted his shoulder and said, "Even I have heard about your deeds in Bingzhou. There is even a new opera in Chang'an, saying that you, Zhidu, have the power of gods and demons, and can judge the sun during the day and the underworld at night. You are the first person in my Han Dynasty to be deified while still alive."

Competition among theaters in Chang'an City was the most intense, with hundreds of regular theaters alone. Watching opera after work had become a part of the daily life of Chang'an citizens. Under such competitive pressure, Chang'an Theater was also the most innovative. The theater that first choreographed "Zhi Gong'an" simply upgraded Zhi Du in order to attract audiences. Not only could he judge people in the world, but he could also judge matters of gods and demons at night. This innovation received a warm response.

Zhidu said awkwardly: "This is the nonsense of the novelist. I dare not compare myself with the ancient sages."

Those who were deified in the Han Dynasty were all sages with great contributions. It was recognized that these people were deified. Zhi did not think that he could be compared with these sages.

But Xu Aimin said: "Since ancient times, which sage who was deified was not loved by the people and enjoyed incense? You are loved by the people and deified by the people. This is more formal than me, the emperor."

But he soon said with a heavy face: "The people are looking forward to justice so much, which shows that the people of our Han Dynasty are being wronged in their daily lives. From this aspect, it is my dereliction of duty."

Zheng Qi, Chao Cuo, Zhi Du and other thirteen provincial governors knelt down and said, "We are guilty of not punishing the wicked and eliminating the evil."

Xu Aimin asked everyone to stand up and said, "I have seen your efforts. You are the best doctors in the Han Dynasty. It's just that our officials are greedy and have abandoned their original intentions."

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The most successful point of Xu Fan's education of his eldest son was to make Xu Aimin understand that he was just a person, just crowned as an emperor, and to make him understand that his prestige as an emperor was limited. His father's prestige could cover the entire Guanzhong area, while his prestige could only cover Chang'an City and a few counties at most. It is very important for an emperor to recognize his own abilities.

Xu Aimin said to them directly: "This time I asked you to come here mainly to exempt the land tax. I have been to the countryside with Master Wu before, and I know that these places have backward transportation and isolated news. It is not an exaggeration to say that the emperor is far away, and the orders of local tyrants are more effective than the orders of me, the emperor."

Zheng Qi, Chao Cuo, Zhi Du and others wanted to kneel down again, but Xu Aimin waved his hand to let them stand up and said: "This matter has nothing to do with you. The township is the limit of the court's rule. It is already a credit to you and others that the court's orders can be carried out halfway."

However, Xu Aimin said in a serious tone: "But this time the court exempted the land tax in order to make the rural people rich, not to enrich some local tyrants. Therefore, you have a great responsibility to supervise the court's policies. You must publicize the policies of the Han Dynasty to the farmers in the Han villages and let the farmers know the policies of the court. If there are Han officials and tyrants who dare to disobey the court in public, you must deal with them severely and quickly. You must not let a good thing turn into a bad thing, and you must not let the people feel cold."

Zheng Qi, Chao Cuo and Zhi all said, "We obey your order."

On October 55, the 10th year of the Han calendar, in Chang'an City, during the meeting of princes.

Jia Yi advised the emperor Xu Aimin: "The court defeated the Xiongnu and divided their country. All countries in the world are in awe of the majesty of the Han Dynasty. The court's hegemony has been achieved, but there are hidden worries within the court that affect the hegemony of the Han Dynasty."

Xu Aimin was stunned and asked, "Is there any enemy of the Han Dynasty in this world?"

Jia Yi nodded and said, "The enemy of our Han Dynasty is precisely the princes within the country. When the Han Dynasty was founded, the emperor granted fiefs to the princes in order to expand the territory, place meritorious officials, and suppress disobedience. This was beneficial to the Han Dynasty at that time. Today, our Han Dynasty is so prosperous, and the five hundred princes granted by the court have made great contributions. However, there is always a disadvantage for every advantage in the world."

"It was still a weak vassal state to the imperial court, but after fifty years of development, it has grown stronger. The Ying~ State in Jiangnan has a population of one million and an annual fiscal revenue of more than 10 billion. The two generations of Ying~ Dukes are generous and have a high prestige. When there are conflicts among the vassal states in Jiangnan, they are willing to ask Ying~ Duke to mediate. He is known as the Southern Marquis in Jiangnan. Duke Lu is highly respected and has a good reputation in Liaodong. The Liaodong Pei State has a territory of 3,000 miles, and its population and area are comparable to those of the powers in the Warring States Period. The land area of ​​the Ji State in the Western Regions is comparable to that of the Central Plains. The country is rich in products, including gold, silver, jade, cotton and oil."

These princes are too powerful and have affected the court's rule over the world. Although the world is peaceful now, it is only because our Han Dynasty is still strong and the emperor is still here, so the princes dare not make trouble. But in a few years, the emperor will pass away, and the princes will become even more powerful. Even if the princes have no ambitions, the prime ministers and generals of the princes' fiefdoms will not want to rule the world and be granted fiefdoms. If Your Majesty continues to let these princes in the south of the Yangtze River grow stronger, it will definitely lead to a situation of mutual suspicion between the monarch and his subjects. The best way for Your Majesty to stabilize the monarch and protect his subjects is to transfer the salaries to the princes and assist them in extending favors.

"Huangdi said: 'When the sun is at its best at noon, you must dry things! When you have a sharp knife in your hand, you must not miss the opportunity to slaughter livestock.' Now if we act according to this principle, it is easy to protect the ministers and stabilize the monarch; if we do not take measures early, and wait until the flesh and blood relatives have committed crimes, then we will kill them. Is this any different from the Qin Dynasty's first emperor killing his brothers and relatives!

There are signs that the princes are becoming stronger, and the situation is the same as before. The disaster is changing, and I don’t know where it will go. An emperor as wise as Your Majesty can ensure the stability of the court, but if the court declines like the period of King Ping of Zhou, how can it suppress the powerful princes in the four borders? "

After hearing Jia Yi's words, Xu Aimin smiled bitterly and said, "My dear minister, you are causing trouble for me."

Then he said leisurely: "It is still not time for us, the Han people, to put away our weapons and horses and let them go to the mountains."

The next day, the atmosphere at the meeting of princes was relatively solemn.

The Imperial Censor Zheng Qi first gave these princes and their envoys a warning by reporting three cases in which princes were expelled from their countries. In two of these cases, the princes' sons had harmed the people and were caught by the Imperial Censor's Office and expelled from their countries for the crime of harming the people.

Zheng Qi even inspected the princes on the scene and said, "The people of the world are the masters of our Han Dynasty. The princely states are not lawless places. You should take good care of your sons and nephews. Don't wait until the country is abolished before complaining about the harshness of the court. I am here to make it clear to you that even if there are princes in your states who dare to harm the people, I will deal with them as soon as I find them in my office of the Imperial Censor, and I will show no mercy."

Now more than 500 princes and their envoys were all frightened and sweating. The abolition of three vassal states in one year was the first time since the founding of the Han Dynasty. After returning, they all planned to control their own sons, especially those dandy ones, and not let them do anything reckless.

Compared with the previous two cases of abolishment of states, the abolition of Fanyang Marquisate was even more regrettable for those princes. The contemporary Fanyang Marquis did not do anything illegal, but his family was unlucky. After the first Fanyang Marquis Wu Rui died of illness, he passed the throne to his eldest son Wu Chen, but Wu Chen died of illness less than three years after inheriting Fanyang Marquisate, and left no descendants. Therefore, Fanyang Marquisate could only be passed to the second son Wu Hui, but the second son Wu Hui also died of illness five years after he ascended the throne. The third son Wu You and the fourth son Wu Chai who ascended the throne later also died young. Wu Chai had no son, so the Han court took back Fanyang Marquisate.

Dong Zhongshu, the Prime Minister of India, looked at the expressionless emperor and thought to himself, is the imperial court planning to reduce the power of the feudal lords in the south of the Yangtze River?

Because the three major vassal states that were expelled were all in the south of the Yangtze River, and after the first fifty years of the Han Dynasty, the prosperity of the south of the Yangtze River was not inferior to the inland areas of the Han Dynasty. The railways greatly strengthened the connection between the south of the Yangtze River and the Central Plains. It made sense that the court wanted to take back this wealthy land.

Dong Zhongshu then breathed a sigh of relief, even if the court reduced the power of the vassal states, it could not reach Tianzhu. At this time, he was somewhat fortunate that Tianzu was thousands of miles away from the Han Dynasty, and the emperor would not be afraid of Tianzhu.

Of course, after the Chief Censor played the bad guy role, the Minister of Personnel Chen Zhen began to play the good guy role. Most of the requests of the Han princes to sell agricultural products were met. Their needs for second-hand machinery to establish small industrial zones were met, and some small engineering demands were also met. In short, it was a good thing to give a few sweet dates. In this way, the atmosphere of the princes' meeting finally became harmonious.

The square outside Zhangtai Palace.

After the Conference of Sages, there will be the Conference of Princes of the Han Dynasty, also in October. Princes and their representatives from the entire Han Dynasty will gather in Chang'an City. On the one hand, these princes will communicate with other princes, and on the other hand, they also want to get the support of the court. For this reason, the princes of the Han Dynasty will try every means to please the emperor and the three dukes and nine ministers of the Han Dynasty.

At the beginning, everyone competed to present gifts to the emperor. You gave me pearls from Liaodong, I gave me ginseng from Liaodong, and he gave me a white bear coat from Mobei. As for the gifts from these princes, the emperor Xu Fan at that time would record them upon his throne and put them into the national treasury. Only if he really liked them would he pay the equivalent price to buy them. The prime minister Zhou Zhang disagreed at that time, because how could the emperor buy the gifts from the princes himself?

But Xu Fan only said one thing: the clear distinction between public and private is the national policy of the Han Dynasty.

Next came Han Xin, the Duke of Mobei. He defeated dozens of tribes in Mobei, and then gathered 36 tribal leaders, choreographed a song "Han King Breaks the Formation" and performed it in Chang'an, which made the emperor very happy.

This gave other princes of the Han Dynasty an idea. It was difficult to find treasures that the emperor would like, but it was easy to capture some barbarian leaders. Their vassal states lacked everything except barbarians.

(End of this chapter)