I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 161 Thinking is also a sin
At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a land measurement event.

Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, who had just unified the country at that time, was ambitious to eliminate the bad policies of the aristocratic families in one fell swoop. He ordered all states and counties to check the amount of land owned by the people, their household registration, and their age.

But many of the big landlords in the Eastern Han Dynasty were not harmless little sheep or good babies. On the contrary, they were very stubborn. When the emperor said that he wanted to re-measure the land in order to clarify the land tax, these wealthy families with private armed forces, known as "big surname soldiers", immediately chose to "have no king and no father" and directly raised troops to fight against the court.

Noble families and local tycoons concealed a large amount of land and controlled a large number of people who depended on them. Once the land was measured, it would mean that they would have to pay taxes to the court according to the land and population they actually controlled. They would certainly not be able to accept this, so without exception they chose to oppose the land measurement.

The local officials who were appointed were either from powerful families, or were afraid of their power. Some even colluded with each other and allowed the landlords to make false reports.

As for the treatment of farmers, they were treated like cattle and horses. Not only was the land measured, but the houses and villages were also measured as fields and reported to make up the numbers.

The result is predictable. The richer and more land-owning aristocratic families did not have to pay taxes or serve in the military. Instead, the common people were forced by tax collectors to break up their families and sell their children in order to pay taxes and serve in the military. This created great social unrest, which even shook the foundation and destiny of the Yanhan Dynasty.

When Liu Xiu learned that there were problems with the new policy, he was furious. He immediately executed more than a dozen county governors for the crime of "false land measurement" and ordered to intensify the land measurement.

However, this move resulted in armed resistance from the powerful families, and the tenants who were affiliated with the powerful families also joined the resistance, triggering a massive rebellion known in history as the "Dutian Incident."

From this we can see that the Red Eyebrow Army and the Yellow Turban Army are all trash, and the aristocratic families are the real professional rebels.

Liu Xiu repeatedly sent troops to suppress the rebels, and the counties and prefectures pursued them, but when they arrived, he disbanded the troops and set them up again. This method of resistance, which was quite similar to the essence of guerrilla warfare, finally even Emperor Guangwu himself was helpless, and the matter came to no avail.

You have to know that Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu was the founding emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty. He was a leader in both civil and military affairs among ancient and modern emperors. Even he was treated like this. One can imagine how frustrated the future emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty would feel when facing aristocratic families and powerful clans.

After Emperor Guangwu's death, the aristocratic families grew rapidly, and now their strength has reached its peak, far exceeding that during the reign of Emperor Guangwu.

Therefore, it is very clear what choices these people will make in response to Wang Jing’s new policies.

However, Wang Jing had expected this. From the very beginning, he had never held any unrealistic expectations. He knew that if he wanted to implement the court's new policies, he could only do so with iron and blood.

Therefore, Wang Jing had already prepared for the struggle. Even if it meant killing many people and rivers of blood, he would push for land measurement and then land reform.

It seemed that Lu Zhi had foreseen this tragic scene, so he couldn't bear it and traveled thousands of miles from his hometown in Zhuo County, Youzhou to Luoyang to wade into this muddy water, trying to persuade Wang Jing to compromise and give in, and temporarily postpone the implementation of the new policy.

It has to be said that Lu Zhi's idea does make sense. Reform is a matter of great importance and does require caution.

But now it is the first year of Chuping. Next year, the battle for supremacy among the various princes will officially begin. By then, the Central Plains will be filled with smoke and there will be no peace.

Wang Jing must take advantage of this period of time, when the princes have just suffered a great defeat outside Hulao Pass and their strength has been severely damaged and has not yet recovered, to solve the internal problems as soon as possible.

If it is delayed until next year, when the princes have licked their wounds, Wang Jing will want to solve the problem of the aristocratic families again. What he will have to face is probably an attack from both inside and outside.

Although they will not necessarily lose, the losses will definitely be more serious, and even the industries that have been built with great difficulty will be destroyed.

Therefore, after discussing and simulating with Xun You and other advisers, Wang Jing would rather ignite this civil war now to minimize the losses and sacrifices.

Based on his judgment of the situation, Wang Jing tolerated Xu You and Yang Hong's secret activities, allowing them to stir up trouble in Luoyang, inciting the diehards among the aristocratic families to collude with each other, and then forcing them to embark on the path of rebellion.

In Wang Jing's opinion, enemies who stand on the stage are not scary, but those enemies who hide behind the stage with malicious intentions are scary. Rather than letting these people stir up trouble in the future war, it is better to lure them out of their holes now and eliminate these potential threats.

Historically, before the Battle of Guandu, many of Cao Cao's subordinates felt that they could not win and secretly exchanged letters with Yuan Shao, wanting to surrender.

After Cao Cao turned the tables, he also found these letters in Yuan Shao's camp.

But Cao Cao's choice was to burn these letters and let bygones be bygones, in order to maintain internal stability and calm the restless people's hearts.

Now Wang Jing has done the opposite. He holds the list and threatens to investigate the assassination to the end. His intention is to intensify the conflict and force those blacklisted families to rebel with fear and panic.

Because these people are difficult to win over and appease, instead of letting them turn against us at a critical moment, it is better to let them rebel now so that the situation can be under control.

For Wang Jing, the layout has been completed. The next thing is to wait for the opponent to lose his patience first.

When Lu Zhi left Luoyang and Wang Fu and Zhong Ji were at a loss, Xu You and Yang Hong came to them.

"Xu Ziyuan, Uncle Yang, how dare you two appear before us? Aren't you afraid that I will arrest you and report you to the police?"

When Zhong Ji saw Xu You and Yang Hong, he was immediately furious. He even drew his sword on the spot, pretending to arrest them and bring them to justice in order to clear himself of suspicion against the Zhong family of Luoyang.

It is ridiculous to say that the Zhong clan of Luoyang originated from the Ji clan, and was a descendant of Zhong Shanfu, a senior minister of the Zhou royal family during the Western Zhou Dynasty.

For the stability of the Zhou Dynasty, Zhong Shanfu once gave advice and pushed the Western Zhou Dynasty to carry out economic system reform, namely abolishing the "public land system" and "labor rent", comprehensively implementing the "private land system" and "tithing tax", encouraging farmers to reclaim wasteland, and vigorously developing commerce.

The success of these reforms created a prosperous period during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou, known in history as the "Xuan Wang Restoration."

The descendants of the reformers at that time have now become vested interests and have begun to obstruct Wang Jing's reforms, and even stopped paying the land taxes that should have been paid to the court.

All we can say is that the descendants of the dragon slayer have become the new evil dragons.

At present, the Zhong family of Luoyang was being roasted on the fire by Xu You and Yang Hong. Li Wei's assassination attempt on Wang Jing failed, and the names of many participants were immediately exposed. Others did not know the inside story, but Zhong Ji and Wang Fu were not stupid. They basically guessed that it was the work of Xu You and Yang Hong easily.

That's why at this moment, I glared at him as soon as we met.

It’s true that they wanted to kill Wang Jing, but they definitely didn’t do it this time. They can’t be guilty of that, right?

What's more, Wang Jing is not dead now and has threatened to get to the bottom of the matter. The blame is too big for both Zhong Ji and Wang Fu to bear!
However, Xu You didn't care about the accusations of the two men. He replied calmly, "Captain Changshui is very courageous. If you want to die with me, you can arrest me and bring me to the authorities. I, Xu Ziyuan, will surrender without resistance."

Seeing Xu You still so arrogant, Zhong Ji was furious. He chopped off a corner of the table with his sword and said, "You bastard, do you really think I dare not?"

But Xu You still didn't frown, instead his tone became more sarcastic: "A dog that bites never barks. The louder you bark, the more you show your inner anxiety and uneasiness. You want to use anger to cover up your cowardice. Do you think you can scare me? I even dared to assassinate Emperor Ling back then. Who do you think you are to dare to shout in front of me?"

"you!"

"enough."

Wang Fu, who had been silent just now, stopped Zhong Ji and looked at Xu You with cold eyes: "Xu Ziyuan, we may not be able to take you to the authorities, but with the power behind us and your previous actions, we can make sure that you cannot leave Luoyang and cannot see the sunrise tomorrow. You will die quietly. Do you believe it?"

"This kind of threat is somewhat meaningful."

Xu You raised his eyes and looked at Wang Fu without showing any weakness: "Let's save ourselves from boring arguments. I admit that I spread the list, but do you think the problem lies with me?"

Zhong Ji cursed angrily, "What else? If you hadn't framed us, how could we have fallen into this dilemma today?"

"Oh, how foolish!"

Xu You did not hide his contempt and disdain. Facing the angry Zhong Ji and Wang Fu, he said sarcastically: "If it were not for me, would you have the awareness to fight to the death with Marquis Qi? The root of the problem lies with Wang Yuanxu. The enemy of our family has always been Marquis Qi, not me. Unless you are willing to hand over the power and interests in your hands, but are you willing?"

"you!"

Although Zhong Ji was angry, he was speechless.

Even Wang Fu was unable to refute Xu You's words at this moment.

High-sounding principles can be used to deceive stupid people, but they can never deceive smart people.

The noble families and powerful families behind the two men are all conservatives within the old party. They hold power and control a large amount of land and population. Therefore, they are very resistant to Wang Jing's reforms and will never sit idly by and watch Wang Jing check the land and register the population and then cut flesh from them.

The conflict between the two sides was irreconcilable, and the only option was war. As for the small moves made by Xu You and Yang Hong, they were just to light the fuse in advance, detonating Luoyang, which had long been a powder keg, and causing the conflict between the old party and the new party to break out in advance.

Wang Fu was as angry as Zhong Ji, but he was a smart man and knew that anger would not solve the problem.

Now that things have come to this, the issue of accountability can wait until later. The most important thing right now is to fight against Wang Jing. Although the aristocratic families in the four counties have a strong foundation, they have no chance of winning a direct conflict with the Northern Army. They need external aid from princes such as Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu to provide help.

So no matter how arrogant Xu You was, Wang Fu had no choice but to endure it.

Xu You also saw this, which is why he was so unscrupulous.

After all, if something went wrong, Xu Ziyuan could just pack up and run away.

But the roots of the four counties and four families are in the Sili area, and the monk can run away but the temple cannot.

After getting angry and venting his anger, Wang Fu once again sat back at the negotiation table and looked at Xu You unkindly: "Since Yuan Benchu ​​wants to use our four county families to delay Wang Jing's advance, he should at least give us hope of victory. Otherwise, the Northern Army is powerful, and our four county families will never die in vain."

Xu You and Yang Hong looked at each other and laughed. "I like talking to smart people. We can provide some weapons and armor, and even send troops to help you contain Wang Jing's generals such as Lu Bu, Xu Huang, and Xu Rong. In addition, if you have any other conditions, please tell us."

Wang Fu gritted his teeth and said, "Weapons like swords can be less, but we are not well prepared for armor, bows and arrows. You must provide them."

Xu You looked at Yang Hong. In terms of family background, Yuan Shu, who inherited most of the inheritance of the Yuan family of Runan, was more wealthy.

Yang Hong was speechless. Why should he pay more?
But when he thought about his mission and the consequences of failure, he could only hold back his unhappy emotions and nodded happily: "Yes."

The conversation between the two sides was not very friendly, but under the premise of having a common enemy, they still reached a consensus on cooperation and managed to get together.

The armies of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu provided weapons and armor behind the scenes to support Zhong Ji and Wang Fu in launching a rebellion in the four counties under the rule of Wang Jing.

Wang Fu and Zhong Ji also needed external help to compete with Wang Jing's northern army. They did not dare to hope to defeat Wang Jing, but only wanted to delay and wait for changes, and force Wang Jing to make concessions through a tug-of-war.

Although the three parties each have their own ulterior motives and calculations, at least they have formed a secret alliance for now.

After the alliance was reached, Wang Fu and Zhong Ji left in a hurry.

Yang Hong also wanted to retire: "We have done everything we can, and it is time for us to retire."

Xu You pinched his mustache proudly, and said with a playful tone: "Although I am very curious and want to see how Marquis Qi will respond, safety is still the first priority now. It is indeed time to leave this dangerous place."

However, at this moment.

Suddenly, outside the tavern, there was the sound of weapons clashing.

A swordsman dressed in black and wearing a conical hat walked with vigorous steps over the threshold and into the house.

The cold gaze, like a wild animal staring at its prey, was absolutely cruel without any emotion, and accompanied by the smell of blood, it quietly permeated the air.

"You two, Lord Qi invites you."

A moment later, the wheels of the car gurgled on the cobblestone road of Chaotian Street, and soon, they finally stopped in front of General Wei's mansion.

"You two, please get out of the car."

Under the bamboo hat, Shi A, holding the Xuanjian sword, had a cold look in his eyes, as if a sharp blade was scraping at the two men.

Xu You and Yang Hong both felt their hair run cold all over their bodies and felt chills down their spines because of his stare.

After getting off the carriage, Xu You and Yang Hong looked up at the solemn and dignified General Wei's Mansion and shuddered for no reason, as if they had seen some man-eating beast.

"My master has already prepared a banquet for you. Please come in."

The more polite Shi A behaved, the more unsure the two men felt.

I’m afraid that today’s banquet will not be a good one.

But when you are under someone's roof, how can you not bow your head?

Xu You and Yang Hong looked at each other silently. They both knew that they had no choice but to bite the bullet and step over the threshold of General Wei's Mansion and walk in numbly.

The banquet had already been set up in the hall, with all the fine wine and delicious food.

However, Xu You and Yang Hong were in no mood to enjoy the food and wine. They were filled with anxiety at the moment, like dying prisoners, waiting for the verdict of fate.

"Marquis Qi has arrived!"

When his name was called, Wang Jing took his seat with calm steps.

Even without any introduction, Xu You and Yang Hong recognized who was the owner of this place from the crowd.

Young and handsome, with a look of arrogance that looked down on the world, Xu You and Yang Hong, who faced Wang Jing at close range for the first time, felt as if they were on the edge of an abyss. Their hearts were beating wildly and they were sweating coldly because of terror and fear.

Wang Jing was at the head of the table. He looked down and saw that Xu You and Yang Hong had not touched their plates. He smiled and asked, "You two are not moving your chopsticks. Do you think the food I prepared is not to your liking?"

When disaster strikes, who has the mood to enjoy delicious food?
Xu You was so angry that he wanted to curse, but there were two secret guards with knives standing beside him, and Shi A, a top swordsman famous in the capital, guarding the gate. Xu You was smart enough not to say anything, after all, his life was more important.

"Greetings, Lord Qi. I wonder why you invited me here today?"

In front of Wang Jing, Xu You finally suppressed his emotions and forced a smile uglier than a ghost, trying to get away with it.

However, Wang Jing did not allow them to play dumb. He smiled and said, "You two have helped me a lot. If I let you go without saying thank you in person, wouldn't that be impolite?"

"You is confused. I really don't know what Lord Qi means by this."

The corners of Xu You's mouth twitched, and he chose to continue playing dumb.

Yang Hong was as timid as a quail, shrinking in his seat and not daring to speak a word.

Wang Jing stared into Xu You's eyes with a half-smile: "I heard that Xu Ziyuan is an extremely smart person, do you have any guesses?"

Xu You was quite intelligent. After suppressing his fear, he instantly figured something out. His expression suddenly changed drastically. He looked at Wang Jing with his mouth wide open in astonishment: "Could it be that..."

"You actually!"

Seeing Xu You's shocked and unbelievable expression, Wang Jing smiled and said, "You figured it out so quickly. Brother Ziyuan is really smart."

Xu You smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Why did Marquis Qi mock me? He used me and my uncle to ignite the rebellion, and then took the opportunity to deal with it with lightning speed and wipe out all the resistance forces inside. With such wisdom, such means, and such courage, Marquis Qi is really a man of great skill and courage, and he can do what others cannot."

After saying that, Xu You looked at Wang Jing helplessly again: "But I am very curious, is Marquis Qi so sure that he can win the final victory? Isn't Marquis Qi afraid that the situation will be beyond his control? It is known that those who are good at swimming will drown in water, and those who play with fire will be burned by fire."

In response, Wang Jing just smiled coldly and replied with a contemptuous tone: "They are just a bunch of chickens and dogs. Do I need to care about their thoughts?"

(End of this chapter)