I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 622: Beidi County Xu Shu

Hanzhong County handled the disaster better than Liu Bian had expected, and did not even need much help from the court. It only needed to reduce or exempt taxes on land tenants in the disaster-stricken areas in the coming year.

Therefore, Liu Bian has been in a good mood during this period of time.

Most of the accountants who arrived in Luoyang from various counties and states brought good news about the good harvests in various places.

There was only one piece of news that was neither good nor bad - Si Tu Dong Zhuo, who had not resigned even when he was sick, could not bear the heavy workload of reviewing the accounts.

Liu Bian then appointed Dong Zhuo as a palace guard and appointed Chen Gui of Xia Pi as a minister of justice.

This move undoubtedly made some people secretly happy - Zhu Jun, Chen Gui, Lu Kang... Finally, the positions of the three highest officials were once again all held by people from Dongzhou!

Although two of them came from the less popular Yangzhou, they were both south of the Yangtze River.

But only those high-ranking officials close to the political center understood that the reason why these three people were able to become the Three Dukes was not because of their backgrounds. Moreover, after the establishment of the Political Affairs Hall, not only the Shangshutai, but also the power of the Three Dukes' Offices were gradually occupied by the Political Affairs Hall - although the Grand Marshal and the Minister of Works were originally members of the Political Affairs Hall.

However, after Chen Gui took office as Si Tu, the Si Tu, who was in charge of civil affairs and assessment of non-military officers, still did not enter the Council of State, which also aroused speculation.

In contrast, the marriage between Dong Zhuo and Yang of Hongnong was completed quietly - and because the marriage took place after Dong Zhong resigned from his post as one of the Three Dukes, few people talked about the incompatibility of the two families.

Liu Bian actually didn't care about these things. He was meeting Xu Shu who came from Beidi County at this time.

Xu Shu was very talkative. In addition to being the Gongcao of Beidi County, he also served as the Changshi of Beidi (County Magistrate). This time he came to Luoyang, in addition to bringing first-hand news about Beidi County, he also had another purpose - to seek help.

"Your Majesty, I will dig new ditches along the old sites of the ditches along the sides of the river and reclaim farmland. There are enough farmlands in the north now, but there are not enough people to farm them!" Xu Shu hoped to continue to immigrate to Beidi County.

However, Liu Bian was a little hesitant after hearing this. He certainly knew that the Hetao area could feed a lot of people, but large-scale reclamation of the Hetao area would inevitably lead to the problem of soil erosion.

"I have read in historical records that in the Former Qin Dynasty, the northwest of Shangjun and the northeast of Beidi were covered with trees and abundant water and grass. However, since the establishment of Shuofang, the trees have been cut down, and although the grass is still there, there is little water."

What Liu Bian was referring to was the interior of the Hetao area. After hearing what Liu Bian said, Xu Shu immediately constructed the general appearance of this area in his mind, and previous records also emerged in his mind.

Just when Xu Shu thought that Liu Bian would refuse to continue to migrate people to the north, he heard Liu Bian say: "You should keep this in mind. When digging ditches, you must pay more attention to the Hetao area."

In the future, when developing countries want to develop industry, an almost inevitable path is to pollute first and then control it. In the absence of an industrial foundation, they want to develop and protect the environment at the same time, and in the end they can only lose the watermelon while picking up sesame seeds.

If it were today, it would be impossible for Liu Bian to leave the Hetao area vacant because of the land desertification crisis hundreds or thousands of years later - in addition to its potential to become the Jiangnan of the Great Wall, the Hetao area is also an important line of defense against enemies from the north.

But it is still possible to let the officials responsible for the development of Hetao pay attention to it.

After mentioning this, Liu Bian continued, "Recently, there has been some discussion inside and outside the court, and some people are planning to make it a rule for the poor people in the interior to voluntarily migrate to the border areas and promise them the benefits of land. But there is no final conclusion yet. You can try to make a statement in a memorial."

Liu Bian's words made Xu Shu feel completely at ease.

He quickly said goodbye to Liu Bian and prepared to go back to write a memorial. However, as soon as he returned to Pang Tong's old house in Luoyang, Xu Shu saw a familiar figure.

"Teacher?" Xu Shu thought he was dazzled at first, and looked twice to confirm that he was not mistaken. "Teacher, I am here to greet you. I didn't know you were coming here, so I couldn't come to greet you..." "Don't be so polite," Huang Chengyan waved his hand, "I came to Luoyang on a whim."

Huang Chengyan was finally worried about his daughter and came to Luoyang.

At first, he thought Huang Yueying went to Hongdu Gate to study, so he could safely leave Huang Yueying to Cai Mao's care. But as he took care of her, Huang Yueying was actually made a marquis. But why did the misunderstanding of Huang Yueying entering the palace gradually become true?
Huang Chengyan did not dare to give full authority to Cai Mao to handle this matter, otherwise, given Cai Mao's personality, the result would be undoubted.

But Huang Chengyan arrived at an inopportune time, as Huang Yueying was summoned into the palace by the Queen. Later, he heard that he and Pang Degong's disciple Xu Shu had returned to Luoyang to report on their work, so he came to find them... and it turned out that Xu Shu was also summoned into the palace.

Fortunately, Xu Shu didn't make him wait too long.

Xu Shu was in Luoyang and had heard all of this. He comforted Huang Chengyan and said, "Teacher, from my perspective, Yueying and the Queen have a very good relationship, especially when Hanzhong was hit by a disaster. With the help of the Queen, Yueying and Zhuge Kongming worked together to complete the wooden ox and flowing horse, which shows that she is highly valued."

Huang Chengyan felt a little relieved after hearing this.

Then, he heard about the situation of Xu Shu and others in Beidi and Shuofang. After learning that everything was fine, he talked about the administration in the two places. After a series of talks, it was getting dark. Huang Chengyan then received a report from the servant that Huang Yueying had left the palace.

Looking at the setting sun, Huang Chengyan's heart, which had been relieved by Xu Shu's words, became nervous again.

Not long after, Huang Chengyan, who was on his way back in a hurry, saw his daughter.

Huang Yueying hadn't seen her father for a long time, so she was very happy. However, Huang Chengyan began to test her cautiously.

"During this long time in the palace, have you always been with the Queen? ... Have you met His Majesty often?"

Although Huang Chengyan asked very carefully, his thoughts were still seen through by the clever Huang Yueying.

"Father, do you think the same as uncle now?"

Huang Chengyan immediately denied it and said, "How could I do that?"

Huang Yueying immediately smiled happily: "I knew that my father would support me!"

"I often talk with Her Majesty the Queen, and I know that the Queen has the ambition to be like the Cao family. The 'Zhao' in the Queen's name also means the Cao family. Your Majesty has never restricted Her Majesty in this regard..."

As Huang Chengyan listened, he thought to himself that something was wrong, because he heard a strong sense of yearning in Huang Yueying's words.

The reason why Ban Zhao was able to achieve achievements that were no less than those of men was that she had the support of the empress Deng Sui. The acquaintance between Ban Zhao and Deng Sui originated from the fact that Emperor He invited Ban Zhao to teach the concubines in the harem.

"As for marriage, my daughter is thinking about it now, there is no need to rush."

After hearing the last sentence, Huang Chengyan felt that his daughter had really grown up - although this feeling was not very pleasant for him as a father.

(End of this chapter)