A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 349 Mobile ATM, "Shang Sage" Liu Hong

The first year of Xiping (the fifth year of Jianning)
As scholars were arrested and expelled on a large scale, the power of the eunuchs reached its peak. If anyone in the court offended an eunuch, he would be demoted and dismissed, or in more serious cases, he would be imprisoned.

Coupled with the unrest on the border and the increase in military expenditures, Liu Hong had to rely heavily on the eunuchs, so he turned a blind eye to their actions, and even personally sold his officials and titles.

Because Liu Hong understood very well that relying on eunuchs to govern is no different from promoting dog officials. Scholars are often reviled, and there are a large number of official vacancies in the court. In this case, why not take advantage of this opportunity to raise enough military expenses?
So from Sangong to Jiuqing, and even to the local prefecture and county magistrate, Liu Hong clearly marked their prices. As long as he paid enough money, he would be promoted.

In addition, in order to prevent the eunuchs Wang Fu and Hou Lan from going too far, Liu Hong also appointed several more regular servants, bringing the number of regular servants to twelve for the first time, creating a new power among the eunuchs of the Han Dynasty. reached new highs. (The original eunuch Cao Jie passed away in the third year of Jianning)
Not all of these twelve people were on good terms with Wang Fu and Hou Lan, and some of them even had some relationship with the imprisoned party members.

But even after taking so many precautions, Liu Hong was still wary of Wang Fu and the others. After all, these people had killed generals and tutors before, and they were too murderous. Liu Hong knew that some people would lose their sense of awe as long as the boundaries in their hearts were broken.

Another factor is that Liu Hong has no money. Wang Fu, Hou Lan and others have been amassing money for many years. It is not clear how much wealth he and his party members have.

May
When an official reported that Chang Shihou Lan was tyrannical, arrogant and extravagant, Liu Hong issued an edict to take back his seal and ribbon, overtly and covertly forced Hou Lan to commit suicide, and dismissed all those who attached to him from their official positions.

In the same year, Taifu Hu Guang passed away, and the court decided to appoint Yang Ci, Liu Kuan and Zhang Ji to teach Liu Hong.

In the same year, King Liu Kui of Bohai was framed for rebellion under the instigation of Wang Fu, the official in charge of the imperial court, and he was imprisoned and committed suicide.

Faced with Wang Fu's frame-up of his clan, Liu Hong knew it well, but it was not time yet, because Hou Lan fell, Liu Hong was full, and the frontier military expenditure in recent years was enough. This kind of mobile money bank is not easy to maintain.

Xiping six years
Wang Fu teamed up with Taizhong doctor Cheng A to trick the Queen of Song into using witchcraft to curse Liu Hong. Then the Queen of Song was deposed and died violently.

In recent years, Liu Hong has gained great support for the war in the border areas with the money from selling his official position and the money from raiding Hou Lanyu's party.

Although barbarians and demons rebelled in remote areas from time to time, they were all put down by Lu Zhi, Zang Min, Zhu Jun and others, and did not lead to a big chaos like the previous Northwest Qiang Rebellion. This made Liu Hong even think that the world was under his shrewdness. Under the circumstances, he is as stable as Mount Tai.

Therefore, he began to enjoy himself in peace and rarely asked about political affairs.

For enjoyment, Liu Hong set up a Western Garden in Luoyang and raised a group of tigers, leopards and wolves just for his entertainment. There were also hundreds of eunuchs and palace maids who surrounded him every day just to let him have fun.

Although he seems to be ignoring government affairs, it does not mean that he does not care about political affairs at all. In order to prevent the Chancellor from passing some decrees that he does not want to see while he is having fun, and at the same time to avoid or reduce errors in the decrees.

He upgraded the Shizhongcao under the Shangshutai to Shizhong Temple, and identified eight officials who were responsible for reviewing the political affairs approved by the Shangshutai, which was called "Provincial Shangshu Affairs".

The second year of Guanghe (the eighth year of Xiping)
After having a hearty play with the beauty, Liu Hong panted and walked into the clear pool outside the door, drinking the wine handed to him by the maid on the side.

This is the tribute "Taibai wine" from the Bai Kingdom. It is not as turbid as ordinary wine. The finished product is crystal clear, just like nectar from the sky. It is truly the best wine. The price of a small bottle is worth thousands of dollars, and it is still priceless.

"Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from Wang He, the governor of Yangzhou, and there is also a military report from Yizhou!"

A eunuch stood carefully on the bank of the pool and reported to Liu Hong carefully.

"Read!"

Liu Hong squinted his eyes and rested his head on the flesh cushion, enjoying the massage from the palace maid. His hands were not idle. One hand kept wandering around the palace maid beside him, and the other hand held a pottery from the Western Regions. Keep putting it in your mouth, the cool juice explodes in your mouth, and the soft and glutinous pulp slides from your mouth into your belly, which is very satisfying.

This is one of the reasons why he did not hesitate to spend a lot of military expenditures to support the quelling the rebellion in the northwest and the Protectorate of the Western Regions. If the northwest trade routes were cut off and the Protectorate was abolished, how could he eat such sweet fruits?
"I, Wang He, the governor of Yangzhou, would like to inform your majesty that the post of governor of Lujiang County has been vacant for many months. As a result, there is no one to take charge of the relations between Han and barbarians in the county. The barbarians are becoming increasingly dissatisfied and they have brazenly raised troops to invade the county. Many counties in Lujiang have complained to me.

However, there are few soldiers in Yangzhou, and they are mostly used to stabilize the place. There are really no soldiers and horses to mobilize to quell the chaos. The local soldiers in Lujiang County are more than enough for defense but not enough for offense. I am afraid that the chaos will last for a long time and spread to surrounding counties and counties, so I request the imperial court to mobilize soldiers and horses to suppress it. Wang He paused. "

Liu Hong's originally relaxed brows suddenly tightened, but he still didn't open his eyes. After waiting for a while, the eunuch heard Liu Hong say again: "Where is the other letter?"

The eunuch rushed to report: "This is a letter from Jing Yi, the governor of Yizhou County. It says that the Banzhen barbarians in Yizhou rebelled and attacked Shu County and Hanzhong County. The military situation is getting increasingly urgent, and they asked the court for advice."

Liu Hong's frown deepened and he asked the eunuch: "Zhang Rang, why is it the governor of Yizhou County who is writing the letter, and the governor of Shu County and Hanzhong County?"

Zhang Rang hesitated and said: "Your Majesty, Gongyang Li, the governor of Shu County, was defeated in three battles and retreated to Chengdu with his remaining soldiers. The barbarians surrounded Chengdu and could not submit a letter."

"Trash, who is this Gong Yangli? Why can't he even defeat the barbarians and be trapped in the county after losing consecutive battles? Doesn't he know how to send dozens of cavalry to rush out and report the detailed battle situation to the court? The barbarians in the southwest have always been Without horses, I don’t believe that the two legs of his barbarian soldiers can outrun the four-legged war horses?”

Zhang Rang reminded: "Your Majesty, this Gong Yangli was born in Hongdu School and was appointed as the prefect of Shu County last year. Shu County is too far away from the capital, and he has to spend a lot of time on the road. His tenure is too short. I don't understand. The local situation is normal."

"Stop making excuses for them. Now I have seen through it. They are good at writing literature and poetry, but if they really take on big responsibilities, they will not be messed up. No wonder they are looked down upon by those scholars. They are really a wall of dirt. Dirty. I remember that the Nanyang Prefect reported yesterday was also from the Hongdu School?"

"Your Majesty is truly knowledgeable and knowledgeable. Fang Kai is from Hongdu School."

"Catch him back and change him to Yilang. Since he knows nothing about government affairs, don't go down and be embarrassed. Just write literature in the capital, lest the scholars say that I am using mediocre people as officials."

"Then, what about the official fees paid by Fang Kai?"

"Except Yilang's price, the rest will be returned to him!"

Zhang Rang respectfully agreed: "Yes, I will definitely handle this matter, that is, your majesty will become the emperor. Otherwise, he will be a rich man who can rival the country. I am afraid that the ancient Tao Zhugong, Fan Li and Lu Buwei will not be the same today." The richest Bai Guo trading house in the world is not as rich as any other."

"Zhang Rang, you can only speak nicely."

Faced with Liu Hong's joke, Zhang Rang smiled like a chrysanthemum, allowing Liu Hong to relieve his political worries.

"Then what's going on in Hanzhong County?"

"Well, Your Majesty, Zhang He, the governor of Hanzhong, has always said that his family is poor and has no money to pay official fees, so he has never given the official seal to him. Now he is still staying in Luoyang?"

Liu Hong said dissatisfied: "Didn't he only pay a quarter?"

"Zhang He still said he had no money."

"Humph, no money, no money to be an official. I remember he was very close to those party members, right? Tell him, no money, no official. If he doesn't pay, let him go home and farm. The governor of Hanzhong will hand it over to someone else."

After venting his anger on Zhang He, he felt much better, but the Yizhou and Lujiang issues had to be resolved. He casually asked Zhang Rang: "Zhang Rang, tell me, is there anything you can do?"

Zhang Rang rolled his eyes and said with a flattering smile: "Speaking of which, to make your majesty laugh, I really have a way to deal with Yizhou, but I really don't know anything about Lujiang and can't tell."

"Just pick up what you know and tell me!"

"Yes, Your Majesty. In fact, the memorial accompanying the Yizhou battle report also contains a letter from Hanzhong County Chief Cao Chengbao. He said that these Banzhen barbarians were actually the basis for the imperial court to quell the Qiang rebellion and other barbarians. They had quelled rebellions many times in the past. Many people use boards to support barbarians as soldiers.

Their loyalty and military exploits to the big man are so great, which shows that they have no disgust at all. It is just a village pavilion for long officials. The taxes and servitude are very heavy and the servants are too heavy. They are reduced to slaves and maidservants. They are beaten better than prisoners in prison. They even marry their wives and sell their children, or they can't bear it and commit suicide.

For many years, he had resented the unfair treatment of the state and county, and the local county chief ignored him. In addition, the place was remote and far away from the court, so his feelings could not be reached. In order to protect themselves, they had to gather together in the city and attack the Xiangting.

If you can choose someone who can shepherd and guard, comfort and persuade, and you will be naturally stable, why bother with conquests. In the past, Zhonglang General Yin attacked the Qiang people and disturbed Yizhou. The people were miserable. There is a proverb: "It's okay to bring captives, but General Yin will kill me."

Therefore, he proposed that after weighing the pros and cons, it would be better to appoint the prefectures and counties without the use of weapons. "

Liu Hong finally understood the reasons for Banchenman's repeated rebellions, and was able to reduce military expenditures without using the army. He was very satisfied with his proposal.

"Since Cheng Bao is so knowledgeable about the Banzhen barbarians, why not appoint him as the prefect of Hanzhong and the commander of the Jiaping barbarians, responsible for putting down the Banzhen barbarians' rebellion.

In order to commend his contribution to the strategy, I allow him to waive official fees. Zhang asked you to send a person as an envoy to send the official seal to Hanzhong. Please obey the authority so that he does not have to come to Luoyang to report on his duties until the rebellion in the southwest has been calmed down. Come to Luoyang again and I will personally reward him. "

"This slave has taken note of it."

To talk about how Cheng Bao, who was just a small official in a county, was able to reach heaven to listen to his plan, it had to be said about the power of money. Cheng Bao knew that the current affairs of the government were all in the hands of eunuchs, and even Taiwei Duan Jue could The Qiang rebellion was suppressed, resulting in many years of peace in the northwest, all by bribing the eunuchs.

In fact, as long as you respect the eunuchs and take the initiative to bribe them, these eunuchs will be easy to talk to and even have very professional ethics. As long as they accept money, they will definitely complete your demands.

So in order to save Hanzhong and his own family, Cheng Bao had to gather together several big families in Hanzhong, plus the ghosts, gods and Taoists advocated Lu. They raised money together and used their connections to bribe Zhang Rang hundreds of thousands of dollars. This led to what happened just now. .

After settling the matter in Yizhou, Liu Hong will solve the rebellion in Lujiang.

(End of this chapter)