I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 87

Liu Bian had a dream.

In the dream, he gathered a large group of talented people around him. Cao Cao and Liu Bei bowed to him, and his subordinates were like clouds of fierce generals and strong men like rain.

He felt that the time had come and shouted loudly to nationalize the land and redistribute it.

So everyone in the world rebelled, even Youzhou, where he was located, rebelled. But they were quickly pacified one after another, and in the end, it seemed that a long list of people had been lost.

He was holding Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao on his left side, and Luo Shen Xiaoji on his right side. Sitting in the court hall, watching everyone report.

Suddenly, a woman named Li Ru was gently holding a bowl of medicine and said to him lying on the bed: "Your Highness, drink the medicine quickly!"

Liu Bian was startled and woke up from his dream in an instant.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was Guo Zhi calling him.

When Liu Bian came back to his senses, the characters in the dream had faded away, and he could only remember a few strange plots clearly.

Especially, land!

I think about it every day and dream about it at night.

As Liu Bian's understanding of the current situation of the Han Dynasty became deeper and deeper, he increasingly felt that the land issue in the Eastern Han Dynasty was difficult to solve in a gentle way.

On the one hand, the local wealthy families expropriated the land of small landowners and farmers and hid the population. On the other hand, the wealthy families used the state machinery to control the power of grassroots governance.

As early as the time of Emperor Zhi, there are records of local governments uniting to expel chief officials (prefecture magistrates).

When Emperor Huan arrived, he even had to issue a special edict, prohibiting prefectures and counties from coercing and expelling long-term officials. It was even emphasized in the edict that anyone who was good at making false seals and seals would be treated the same as killing people and abandoning the market.

After understanding this, Liu Bian began to understand more and more why the power of the governor and prime minister was too great. Appointing and dismissing subordinate officials and operating salt and iron on his own were enough to form a country of his own. The power of the governor and prime minister was just like that of a monarch. .

But at first Lu Zhi still insisted that he did not agree to reset the captaincy.

Because the Eastern Han Dynasty has always been able to check and balance the control of local noble families over local government by strengthening the power of county guards and ministers.

In Liu Bian's view, this kind of last resort behavior is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst.

The collapse of the Eastern Han Dynasty was not only due to the collapse of central power, but local problems were fundamental.

Even at a certain moment, Liu Bian thought without hesitation: Why not become a paper poster, imitate Emperor Ling, and enjoy life! No matter how many years he can last.

Unfortunately, he had no choice.

He didn't want to wake up one day and someone next to him told him that the Yellow Turbans were revolting again!

Then, there was fighting everywhere, people were in ruins, and China was in chaos...

To tear down and start over is the last option he wants. He hopes to preserve more vitality for this nation to face the cold climate period in the next two to three hundred years.

Liu Bian let out a long sigh of relief. He had to eat his food one bite at a time and take his time!

He has a lot of confidence now, and now I have the advantage!

Except for the flood in Qijunguo and the Yellow Turban in Runan, there are no major natural or man-made disasters this year.

Counting the expenditures for disaster relief, we must have four to five billion, rather than restoring the country's annual revenue to the six billion it was during Emperor Huan's time. We can't always rely on Xiyuan subsidies to live on.

If the statistics of other places except the disaster-stricken counties are still declining this year, then this is a reason to come to the door to rectify the administration.

……

With the land issue on his mind, Liu Bian suddenly sighed when he saw Emperor Ling in the afternoon: "Thanks to the money raised by my father for the Western Garden, what else would the country do now?"

Emperor Ling was overjoyed at first, thinking that his prodigal son finally knew how expensive firewood and rice were, and immediately became wary again, saying, "Bian'er, tell me straight, what do you want to do with the money from Xiyuan?"

Conscience of heaven and earth! Liu Bian did not expect that his reputation with Emperor Ling was already so bad. He explained: "Father, I really don't have any ideas. I just looked at some data on the population and land area that have decreased in recent years, and asked Master Lu for advice. I learned a lot about things that I didn't know before, and I felt emotional." Emperor Ling felt relieved.

Liu Bian also talked about the calculation of land acres and population, which corresponded to land rent and taxes respectively.

Emperor Ling said: "Now in August, it is the time for counties to report to the county. Why not start from now?"

After that, Emperor Ling sent Xiao Huangmen to call Situ, who was in charge of the plan.

Liu Bian did not expect that the emperor was more anxious than him.

"What are you going to do, father? Set small goals for each county first?" Liu Bian asked tentatively.

Emperor Ling nodded slightly: "Bian'er's idea is good."

Liu Bian: "..."

Although it was his idea, he still questioned: "But hasn't the land transfer in each county been completed now? If the county cannot meet the set standards, I am afraid that the additional taxes will be allocated directly to ordinary people."

"Then order the governors of each state and the supervisors of each county to inspect the counties." Emperor Ling reacted quickly at this time.

Although Liu Bian had some doubts about whether the governor and the new supervisory staff under his suggestion could really play a role at this time, even if they could really play a role, it would definitely be indispensable to allocate the increased taxes to the people.

But he understands better that if he does not take the first step, the country will only sink in a cycle of reduced revenue and declining governance capabilities.

Although there is a bit of a feeling of standing and talking without back pain.

But this is the reality. Revolution is not a dinner party, and no reform can be without bloodshed.

The only thing Liu Bian can do is to find ways to avoid meaningless internal friction.

"Father, what you said makes sense."

Before Situ Dingong arrived, Liu Bian thought of another idea. He suggested: "You can spread the word and say that the country is planning to randomly select a number of counties at the end of the year and send envoys to investigate the officials of each county. When collecting taxes, have the local officials committed any evil deeds of oppressing the people with assets of less than 100,000 yuan? If so, depending on the severity, the county magistrates will treat the crime as indulgence."

As for whether or not to send out, and how much to send out, we will tell at that time!

Liu Bian checked the history books and found out that when Emperor Guangwu returned to Tian, ​​some small-scale rebellions began after he sent people out. The real large-scale rebellion occurred after Tian completed the execution of more than a dozen governors and governors the following year.

It's unlikely that anyone would be able to sit still after hearing the news.

Probably not...

After all, the Eighth Lieutenant of Xiyuan is not just practicing for fun.

Afterwards, Situ Dinggong came to Yutang Hall.

He was shocked when he heard the sudden thoughts of the emperor and the prince and his son.

Although it was true that he was close to the eunuchs and did not dare to disobey the emperor's wishes, how could he dare to deal with such a big matter alone?

Ding Gong fell to the ground and worshiped: "Your Majesty, this is a major matter of the country. I am ignorant to hear about it. Please summon the three Dukes to discuss the matter."

I thought to myself that since the Taiwei was out, even if it couldn't delay the meeting, more people would come down to discuss the matter.

Although Liu Bian thinks that as long as he doesn't set the standard too high, there shouldn't be a big problem, but what if he is too optimistic?

He also tends to listen more and get more opinions.

Liu Bian knew very well that he was not smarter than the ancients, he just had more knowledge from later generations and could understand through listening.

(End of this chapter)