My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 327 Things are different now
With the dust basically settling on the two-way battle between Mayi and Hetao, time finally came to the second year of Emperor Rong Xinyuan.

According to usual practice, the first major event of the new reign would be held at the beginning of the first year of the new Yuan Dynasty.

Just like eight years ago, in the sixth month of the summer of the seventh year of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen’s reign, Emperor Taizong passed away;

Just four months later, in the first year of Emperor Xiaojing's reign, the Chang'an court held the first major event of Emperor Xiaojing's reign.

Before that, at the beginning of the seventh year of Emperor Taizong's reign - eight months before Emperor Taizong's death, the court in Chang'an had just carried out the tenth major plan of Emperor Taizong's reign.

In other words, the major plan of Emperor Xiaojing in the first year of the Qi Dynasty was the second major plan of the Han Dynasty in those two years.

When Liu Rong ascended the throne, the situation was different.

——After the first major plan in the first year of Emperor Xiaojing’s reign, the second major plan of Emperor Xiaojing’s reign came in the fourth year of Emperor Xiaojing’s reign.

The third time was in the seventh year of Emperor Xiaojing's reign.

But in this dimension, Emperor Xiaojing of the Han Dynasty, Liu Qi, died in the autumn of the sixth year of Xiaojing.

Therefore, the third major event of Emperor Xiaojing's reign, which was supposed to be held at the beginning of the seventh year of Emperor Xiaojing's reign, should have been replaced by the first major event of the new emperor at the same time, that is, at the beginning of the first year of Emperor Rongxin's reign.

But the situation at that time was a little special.

——Emperor Xiaojing's body was not yet cold when the Huns came to blackmail him, and Liu Rong rejected them flatly!
Then, there was a battle between Chao and Na, which made the entire court of Chang'an focus on the northern wall, and Liu Rong no longer had the mind to think about the big plan;
The Chang'an court was so focused on the battle at the northern wall that it had no energy to handle major affairs.

The major plan that should have been carried out last year was delayed. It should be made up this year, at the beginning of the second year of Liu Rongxin's reign, right?

Unfortunately, this year is the same as last year - the fighting at the north wall has not stopped, and the court in Chang'an has no time to take care of other things.

Liu Rong was actually somewhat helpless about the fact that his first major plan of this dynasty had been postponed again and again.

The grand plan was a rare means of inspection and supervision by the central government in Chang'an at that time over local counties, especially those in Guandong where the emperor was far away and the mountains were high.

This major plan, which is held every three years, uses black hats, or even heads, as targets to warn every county official: no matter what unscrupulous things you do, never go overboard!

Otherwise, even if you are blessed by God, you can only survive for three years at most.

When the next big plan comes, all your ugly deeds will be exposed in Chang'an, and then you will be like mud falling out of your crotch - if you don't shit, you will be dead.

Of course, the significance of the Grand Plan is not just to urge local counties not to do anything too bad;

Even if an official does not do anything bad, but just does fewer good things and his political achievements are not up to standard, he may still face a turning point in his political career that is unfavorable to him in the course of his major plans.

To be precise, Daji was the only channel for the Chang'an court to reward or punish local counties, quell rebellions, and transfer positions based on facts and political achievements.

Without a grand plan, the Chang'an court would not be able to obtain first-hand information on the situation in local counties, let alone make targeted adjustments.

The last major plan of the Han Dynasty was in the fourth year of Emperor Xiaojing;
Counting on my fingers, this year, the beginning of the second year of Emperor Rong Xinyuan, is already the fourth year since the last major plan.

If we delay it any further, until next year, it will be a five-year plan...

"Emperor, please discuss this with the ministers in the court. If it really doesn't work, we should make up for this year's plan in the spring."

"——This major event that should have been held last year has been delayed until this year. This is already inappropriate."

"If we delay for another year, and something really goes wrong in Kanto..."

The fourth day of the tenth month in winter, Chang'an City, Changxin Hall, Changle Palace.

Hearing Liu Rong talking about the plan to delay the big plan again, Old Lady Dou's expression remained indifferent. She only reminded Liu Rong verbally: The big plan is very important, and if it can be avoided, try not to delay it any further.

Liu Rong wanted to defend himself, but he did not speak directly, saying something like "the burden of war";
Instead, he tactfully changed the subject and said, "Yesterday, the Grand Commandant Li Ji sent back a report: the Xiongnu Right Wise King Yizhixie withdrew his troops, and Cheng Buzhi led his troops north and was able to re-station in Mayi."

"In Shuofang County, Henan, the northern wall of Bowang City has been roughly completed. By the beginning of next spring, we can use the low wall to enclose Bowang City for travel. By the autumn of next year at the latest, Bowang City can be completely completed!"

"——In recent days, officials in the court have been discussing how many cities should be established in Shuofang County and how to govern it;"

"And matters such as the appointment of county officials and the dispatch of generals..."

While speaking with a smile on his face, Liu Rong's eyes glanced to his side intentionally or unintentionally, pretending to lower his eyes to drink tea, but in fact, he was carefully observing the changes in his grandmother, Empress Dowager Dou's expression.

It was just as Liu Rong had expected: when the old empress dowager heard Liu Rong use the war, especially the results of the war, to euphemistically explain the reason for the postponement of the plan, her face, which had been calm, suddenly showed a visible stiffness.

——Whether in ancient or modern times, in China or abroad, war is always an extension of politics.

The Hetao-Mayi Battle obviously had extraordinary political significance for the Han Dynasty.

The Han family won!

All the established strategies before the war - namely, seizing Hetao in the Hetao battlefield and ensuring that Mayi was not lost in the Mayi battlefield, except for Cheng Buzhi's voluntary abandonment of Mayi, which caused the Han family to temporarily lose control of Mayi - were successfully achieved!

The successful achievement of the established strategy and the successful acquisition of the Hetao region meant that this war allowed the Han Dynasty to smoothly expand its territory.

——The newly opened territory, especially the Hetao area!

It is no exaggeration to say that this one item alone is enough to make the Han family, from top to bottom, whether it is the generals participating in the war, or the logistics support soldiers and civilians;
Whether it is the nobles or the peasants at the bottom;

Even Emperor Liu Rong himself benefited greatly from it!
Needless to say, the soldiers and logistics troops who participated in the war, the real military achievements will greatly improve the living standards of everyone involved in this war.

Even if we cannot achieve the level of "per capita class transition", at least each person will make some money.

The dignitaries are also easy to understand - almost all the nobles and relatives of the emperor participated in the war and each got a share of the spoils;

Even the farmers at the bottom of society can get very direct benefits.

——Even if my family has no sons or nephews participating in the war, we should at least buy something for the rewards given to the meritorious soldiers who participated in the war, right?
Thousands, even tens of thousands, of "meritorious soldiers" poured into the market, waving handfuls of copper coins. Anyone who had something to sell could make a profit from it.

If we were to say who benefited the most from this battle, it was undoubtedly Emperor Liu Rong.

——The achievement of expanding territory!
For generals, this is a military honor;
But for Liu Rong, this is real "martial arts"!
Although there is no particular priority between civil and military achievements, it is clear at a glance which one is more important.

Take Liu Rong's grandfather, Emperor Taizong of Han, Liu Heng, for example. It took him a full 27 years to get future generations of Chinese people to give him a thumbs up and recognize his achievements in the field of "civil governance."

However, the Emperor Wu of Han in the original historical timeline, Liu Che, managed his internal affairs in a mess and almost caused the Han Dynasty to collapse, but he was able to go down in history simply by virtue of his military achievements. - Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, reigned for 27 years and worked diligently throughout his life;
It took a full twenty-seven years to achieve the ceiling-level achievement in the field of "civil governance", but the only thing missing was "martial arts".

——Liu Che, Emperor Wu of Han, reigned for fifty-four years and lived a dissolute life;
He used twice the length of his reign, and squandered the Han Dynasty for more than 50 years, completely destroying the accumulation of the rule of Wen and Jing. The people were in dire straits and their lives were in misery, but he only had "military achievements".

But in later times, everyone knows that Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, drove the barbarians northward, and Wei and Huo shone on the grasslands;

However, few people know that Han Wen worked hard to govern the country, and was praised by people all over the world as a "living saint".

This is the difference between civil governance and military achievements.

It is hard to say which of the two is more difficult;
The former takes a very long time, requires great patience, and a certain amount of political ability;

The latter requires great courage and sufficiently stable dignity.

But its value is obvious at a glance - decades of hard work are not as good as the martial arts gained in one battle!

Even though the Qin dynasty fought bravely for six generations and worked hard for a hundred years, it was ultimately no match for the First Emperor who unified the world and became the ancestor of China.

For example, the Han Dynasty went through the rule of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, and had to compromise for decades, but in the end it was still no match for Emperor Wu of Han who trampled on the barbarians and forged the backbone of the Chinese nation.

As the first wife of Emperor Xiaowen of Han Dynasty, Empress Dowager Dou still could not forget what bothered her husband before his death.

As a qualified politician, it is even more impossible for the old empress dowager not to know what the word "martial arts" means to an emperor.

——If so, before this war, Liu Rong was just a rookie emperor who barely reached adulthood, barely qualified in skills, and barely met the political level;

After this battle, Liu Rong, who had the word "martial arts" to his credit, completely became the true emperor of Han who spoke the law and whose words were followed by laws!
In the past, Liu Rong had to base his policies on existing laws;
But from now on, every policy Liu Rong wants to formulate will be followed by new laws to supplement the legitimacy of the policy.

This is called "say what you say and do what you say"!
This situation was obviously not what the old queen wanted to see.

To be precise, the old queen had mixed feelings about the outcome of this war.

As the helmsman of the Han family - at least one of the theoretical helmsmen, the old queen mother certainly hopes that the Han family can achieve the greatest results at the lowest cost in every war;

But as an individual and a politician with a desire for power, the old queen mother obviously did not want Liu Rong to acquire "martial arts" so smoothly and use it as a foundation to take away too much power from her hands too early.

But now, the rice is already cooked;
No matter how unacceptable it was, the old queen mother could only force herself to accept it and adapt to the change in her status as soon as possible.

——From being a decision-maker who replaced the former Emperor Xiaojing and "held the scene" for the new emperor Liu Rong in the past, to being a counselor who provided advice to Emperor Rong and gave timely reminders and warnings in the future...

"Does the Emperor's mausoleum and city have regulations?"

After a long time of farewell, Empress Dowager Dou finally managed to utter a warning without any context.

It’s not that the old queen is not used to her current role;
——During the reign of Emperor Xiaojing, Empress Dowager Dou basically played the role of an adviser to the fully-fledged Emperor Xiaojing, who was already in his prime before he ascended the throne.

Remind the emperor from time to time not to forget this or not to delay that, and then just act like a hands-off boss.

But after all, he changed from that role to a person in power like Empress Dowager Lu and Empress Dowager Bo, and now he has become an advisor again;
This sudden gap requires some time to adapt.

"It's settled."

Liu Rong had a rough idea of ​​the old empress dowager's psychological activities.

Knowing that the old queen mother was not unwilling to accept the reality, but needed some time to get used to it, Liu Rongzi also understood that at this time, he must not stimulate the old queen mother's fragile and sensitive nerves;

So, as usual, he replied respectfully: "All the officials in the court have discussed and decided that my grandson's tomb and city will be Maoling."

"Originally, the construction of Maoling should have officially started after the Jitian Ceremony in the spring of next year, but my grandson was considering the war plan and the court was busy with affairs, so this matter was postponed for the time being..."

Liu Rong revealed a flaw, and as expected, the old empress dowager frowned.

"This is delayed, that is delayed;"

"Tomorrow after tomorrow, how many tomorrows are there?"

"Next year will have its own affairs, and the year after that will have its own affairs!"

"Everything is put off until later, piled up. When will it be over?"

···
"What's more, there were wars the year before last and the year after last. This year, next year, and the year after next may not be peaceful either."

"If there is another war, will the emperor continue to drag on with the grand plan, the mausoleum, and even everything else in the future?"

Then the old queen grabbed Liu Rong's pigtail and started to complain.
After venting his anger, he said with a stern face: "It's okay to delay the big plan, but no matter what, it must not be delayed again and again."

"——Next year, at the beginning of the third year of the Emperor's reign, we must make a major plan!"

···
"As for the mausoleum, it concerns the safety of the ancestral temple and the state, and even more so the foundation of the country. We cannot delay it."

"It's not something that requires the full cooperation of the court and the outside world. At least we should let the Shaofu start and build the mausoleum first."

"——The late Emperor Xiaojing was in office for six years when the mausoleum was completed. Before he had time to relocate the powerful people from Guandong to the mausoleum, the late emperor passed away."

"This year, the emperor moved a group of powerful people from Guandong to Yangling, the capital of the previous emperor;"

"Every three years, we will move another batch of people to Maoling."

After saying these words, and seeing that Liu Rong was not sticking his neck out, nor showing off because of his "martial arts skills", but was as respectful as usual, the old empress dowager's anger finally subsided.

But he did not forget to put on the attitude of a patriarch and preach earnestly.

"The emperor knows why the mausoleum is so important to the country."

"Governing a country is a science;"

“Lao Tzu said: To govern a large country is like to cook a small fish.”

"The emperor still has a lot to learn..."

(End of this chapter)