Great Han Empire

Chapter 523 Immediately Shooting the Gun
Li Wei promised Dong Zhuo to lead his troops back to Hedong, but he explained to Dong Zhuo in detail the dangers of the victims continuing to move northward to the frontier.

Li Wei said that my lord has lived in the frontier fortress for a long time and knows the barrenness and hardship in the frontier county.Among the several border counties in northern Xinjiang, only the Hetao area and the Pingcheng area of ​​Yanmen County can be farmed. There is very little land, and it is already the limit to support more than 100 million people.In addition, the climate in the frontier fortress is harsh, and the input and output of the farmland are small. Even if the victims who migrated north from the Central Plains barely adapt to the climate in the frontier fortress, it will take a long time to completely solve the problem of food and clothing. The people in the frontier county do not have ten years of stability and peace. The harvest cannot be self-sufficient.Some disaster victims can also learn to herd herds from the Hu people and local people, and switch to animal husbandry for a living, but how many disaster victims who migrated north will change their way of life passed down from generation to generation?
If the victims of the disaster in the north moved to the border counties exceeded one million people, everyone would not be able to survive, and the direct harm would be the rebellion of the victims and the barbarians.The victims of the rebellion and the barbarians rush into the south of the Great Wall and flow down along the Jinyang River, which will form a riot of millions of people, and Gyeonggi will be in crisis.

The general Cheqi was eager to go out to conquer the frontier. In fact, a large part of the reason was to temporarily relieve the huge pressure and crisis caused by the continuous influx of disaster victims to Bingzhou.There are many disaster victims in northern Xinjiang, but there is not enough land to distribute, no food and clothing to feed them. In order to avoid the outbreak of rebellion, the only way to quickly launch a campaign to recover the border counties and attack the desert.To fight a war, civilians need to be recruited. The chariot and cavalry generals use these disaster victims as civilian husbands, and let them deliver food, grass and supplies to the army to solve their food and survival problems.

Li Wei said that once the expedition is over, the first thing Northern Xinjiang will face is to resettle the millions of civilian husbands.Cheqi Dajiang means to move them back to their original places and let them return to their hometowns.General Cheqi believes that after more than a year of recovery in Jiqing, Yanxu and Xuzhou, they should be able to resettle these peasants back home to farm. In order to prevent the disaster victims from rioting in the Central Plains, to weaken the strength of the general Cheqi and reduce the threat of the general Cheqi to the court, he ignored the safety of the great Han society, and moved the victims north to Bingzhou again and again. All the disasters and disasters have been sent to Beijiang, and let Beijiang bear it all.The imperial court did not think of ways to relieve the disaster victims everywhere, and did not solve the crisis caused by millions of disaster victims, but passed on this crisis to northern Xinjiang. This kind of short-sighted behavior is really intolerable, and it will eventually shake Even ruined my Dahan Sheji.

The disaster victims continued to move northward, and the Ji, Qing, Yan and Xu prefectures did temporarily resolve the crisis of the disaster victims' riots, but northern Xinjiang was by no means as safe and worry-free as Lord Taiwei thought, but on the verge of a big eruption, as long as the expedition If it stops, the crisis in northern Xinjiang will erupt immediately, and the Great Han Society may be overthrown.My lord is a Taiwei, the head of the three lords, who is in charge of military affairs, and all the crimes are borne by my lord, and my lord will be infamous forever.

The imperial court’s policy of moving the victims to the north seems to have temporarily solved the crisis of the victims, solved the problem of frontier fortresses and garrisoning fields, and even solved the threat of the Great General of Chariots and Riders to the Han Kingdom. Did Mr. Fu and the ministers in the court also send Mr. Fu to a desperate situation?
Dong Zhuo gradually understood. He was sitting behind the desk, gently fiddling with a roll of bamboo slips with his hands, thoughtfully.

Li Wei continued, the treasury has no money, is it too wishful thinking for Lord Taiwei to suggest that General Cheqi should withdraw his troops and stick to Hanbei County?Lord Taiwei has been guarding the frontier for decades, so he should know that if the army does not completely defeat the main force of the Xianbei people, it will be impossible to defend Hanbei County and the southern part of the desert.Kuitou, Murongfeng, Luozhi Dianluoluo and Mijia also have nearly [-] cavalry, tens of thousands of tribes, and millions of livestock, but our food, grass, and luggage are all cut off. Can this continue to stick to Hanbei County?Can it continue to occupy the desert?After the army withdrew to the south of Yinshan Mountain, what would happen in the northern border, Lord Taiwei should be very clear.

Now that northern Xinjiang has fallen into a desperate situation, there are only two ways to get rid of the current crisis.

One is to order the general of chariots and riders to continue the expedition. The farther the army is from Yinshan Mountain, the more civilians will need to go north to transport food and supplies, and the more civilians will enter the desert, the crisis in northern Xinjiang will be temporarily suppressed.If the army conquers Xianbei with iron cavalry, and the northern border is stable, the Taiwei Lord will make great achievements in the world. From then on, the Lord will not only be famous in the annals of history, but also be able to control the power of the country with the power of thunder. In this way, the Lord can revive the great Han society , and then build the great cause of Duke Zhou.

Secondly, order all states and counties to immediately stop the northward migration of victims.If the ministers of the DPRK and China strongly oppose it, your excellency can take two steps.One is to allocate money and food to help the victims in northern Xinjiang to temporarily overcome the difficulties, and the other is to set aside two to three counties from Jizhou for farming so that the victims in northern Xinjiang can be moved out in the coming year.Jizhou has experienced wars and famines in the past few years, the population has dropped dramatically, and the land is barren, which is very suitable for the imperial court to farm.

The benefits of the imperial court are very many. First of all, the reputation of being loyal to the country and serving the people will spread all over the world. Secondly, after the adults take back all the barren fields in the name of the court, they can rent them first and then sell them. In this way, the adults can not only properly resettle the victims and restore Jizhou Yuan Qi increases taxes for the national treasury, and can also earn amazing money from it.If this move is successful, it will benefit the country and the people, so why not do it?
Dong Zhuo was moved, he pondered for a long time, and said slowly: "Zhong Yuan, where does the money come from?"

Li Wei smiled and said, "My lord, do you still remember what methods my Emperor Wu used to raise money to attack the Xiongnu far away?"

Dong Zhuo suddenly realized.Li Wei stood up and bowed to say goodbye.

===

Dong Zhuo summoned Liu Ai and Li Ru overnight.

When Liu Ai and Li Ru walked into the study, Dong Zhuo was immersed in flipping through the scrolls.Dong Zhuo asked the two to sit down, pointed to a volume of classics and said: "In order to defeat the Xiongnu, Emperor Wu repeatedly used troops, which led to the depletion of the treasury. This is similar to the crisis facing the Han Dynasty today. Only, Dongguo Xianyang, and Sang Hongyang’s heavy-weight strategy quickly got rid of the financial crisis, raised military funds, and won the expedition victory, then, can we use Emperor Wu’s method to save the Great Han Kingdom today?”

Liu Ai and Li Ru didn't understand Dong Zhuo's meaning for a while, and they didn't dare to speak.

Dong Zhuo stroked his beard and sighed: "The national treasury is out of money. The treasury's money can only be used until October, but you know that the chariot general is now on an expedition to the desert, and there are 12 troops in Gyeonggi who need food and wages, and there are many other things. Everything needs money, so what should we do? In the past, when the late emperor had no money, he first ordered the princes, nobles, powerful families, and rich merchants to donate, and then borrowed from them on credit, and then sold his officials, nobles, and even his crimes. The emperor cannot do this today, nor can we force the emperor to do this, this approach will not only lose the support of the people, but it will not help, so we must think of a proper and long-term strategy."

Dong Zhuo looked at the two of them and asked, "Emperor Wu implemented the four strategies of unifying the currency, salt and iron official management, setting equal losses, and leveling standards, collecting money, and encouraging money. It has restored and strengthened the national strength of the Han Dynasty. I would like to ask you two, what does this technique of weight and severity mean?"

Liu Ai and Li Ru looked at each other, without speaking for a long time.

Liu Ai replied: "This method of weight comes from the theory of weight in "Guanzi", which includes three parts: the trend of weight, the learning of weight, and the art of weight. The so-called "weight" means that when goods are scarce, the price is high. This is weight. When there is a surplus, the price will drop. This is the lightness. The lightness and the weight change due to the fluctuation of people's demand. These three parts are the most important. The so-called lightness and heavyness refers to the direct participation of the imperial court in the management of goods to control the wealth of the world. , the common people can only operate permitted goods within the scope allowed by the imperial court, so that the emperor and the imperial court can firmly control the life and death of the rich and poor of the people in the world, and there is no need to use violence to plunder and rule, and the common people are under the control of the emperor and the imperial court Neither can evade taxes, nor take risks because of being too poor, and can't be too rich to look down on the rewards and salaries of the court, so that the world is stable and the country is prosperous. One ruled the world' became the head of the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the strategies of the two rulers and ministers to govern the country were recorded in this book by later generations, so this theory is also called "the art of Huan and Guan".

Dong Zhuo nodded repeatedly, and then asked: "In order to alleviate the shortage of the national treasury, Emperor Wu added various new taxation systems, such as levy of wine tax, livestock tax, sea tax, poll tax, etc., but I think there are only money tax and salt and iron tax. The tax was the two most important types of tax at that time, and the income was very high. The salt and iron business has been liberalized now, and even if it is changed to a government operation, there will be no money in the short term. Therefore, I think we can only find a way from the tax. What do you say?"

Liu Ai and Li Ru already understood Dong Zhuo's intentions, they frowned and remained silent.

===

Dong Zhuo looked at Liu Ai and said, "Tell me."

Liu Ai coughed a few times, and said with a twist: "The imperial court has been collecting money tax, and the amount is relatively large. If you suddenly order to increase the money tax, it may cause turmoil in Gyeonggi. It is impossible to collect enough money to fill the treasury, so the lower officials think it is not appropriate."

Dong Zhuo smiled slightly, and said, "How many wealthy businessmen from all over the Han Kingdom have truthfully paid the tax? Everyone is hiding their wealth and not reporting it or underreporting it. At this time, for the sake of the great Han's future, can we promulgate a notice?" Order? We encourage the common people to report to the imperial court the evil deeds of merchants’ hidden property and tax evasion, and stipulate that anyone who can report hidden assets and report false assets will be rewarded with half of the confiscated assets.”

Liu Ai shook his head and said softly: "My lord, although suing and suing have earned a huge amount of income for Emperor Wu and filled the treasury with money, it has also dealt a heavy blow to wealthy merchants. At that time, most merchants above the middle level were arrested. The result of arrest and exile directly led to the sharp shrinkage of the country's financial resources. Later, Emperor Wu had to cancel the order to sue, and vigorously implemented Sang Hongyang's official salt and iron official camps and official and commercial policies such as equal distribution and equalization. Only then can it be relieved. My lord, the Han Kingdom has been plagued by wars in recent years, so it is not appropriate to use such a strategy that hurts muscles and bones."

Dong Zhuo looked at Li Ru who had been silent all this time, and asked, "Changsheng, what do you think? Do you agree to promulgate the order?"

"My subordinates very much agree with your lord's proposal." Li Ru said loudly, "My lord Liu only saw the short-term impact of the policy of counting money and suing money on the country's tax revenue, but he did not see that it helped the Han Dynasty to clear up its chronic diseases and restore the country. Vitality and national strength have been enhanced. The 400-year-old foundation of the Han Dynasty has a lot to do with Emperor Wu promulgating this policy."

Liu Ai looked at Li Ru in amazement, and said angrily: "One moment at another, how can today's Han Dynasty be compared with the former Han Dynasty? Today's Han Dynasty simply cannot withstand such a heavy blow."

"Today's Great Han Kingdom is dying, and it is on the verge of collapse. We should take this important policy and kill all the traitors who devour the flesh and blood of the Great Han." Li Ru said excitedly, waving his hands, "If this strategy is not used, the Great Han Kingdom will have no hope of revitalization. "

"Why did Emperor Wu levy a tax? In those days, Emperor Wu used troops year after year to patrol the world, built large-scale construction projects, and relieved disasters and famines, which caused huge expenditures in the treasury and financial deficiencies. In order to alleviate this situation, Emperor Wu first used the cruel official Zhang Tang to save the finances of the Han Dynasty. Zhang Tang adopted a cool method, but suffered a serious failure due to the excessive reform of the currency system. Emperor Wu had to solicit donations from wealthy merchants and rich merchants for emergency relief, but there were very few donors. The money was concealed and not reported, so Emperor Wu issued an order to sue." (Counting money is property tax. String refers to copper coins strung together with a rope, a string of [-] coins is called a string.)
"What about today? Today's Great Han Kingdom is full of wars, rebellions, and disasters. The royal family's expenditure is even more staggering. The treasury is not lacking, but has been in deficit for several years. Where are the rich merchants today? Look at how many rich people there are in Luoyang City. But merchants in the enemy country? They have tens of billions of money, but who is willing to donate it? Who is willing to lend to the emperor on credit? The expeditionary soldiers are fighting bloody in the desert, and the victims are starving, but which rich person is willing to donate?"
"Emperor Wu sent officials to various states and counties to collect money, and confiscated tens of billions of property, thousands of slaves, and a large number of fields and houses, but this was not the main harvest of the Han Kingdom." Li Ru said, " The four-year-long complaint order dealt a heavy blow to the power of the princes, kings and rich merchants, and prevented the intensified land transactions. The policy of camping and equal loss and leveling was implemented smoothly. If the refugees had not been resettled and landed, if the country had not implemented the policy of five baht coins, salt and iron official camps, and equal loss and leveling, how could Emperor Wu have made such a great achievement? ? Where did the Han Kingdom come from for 400 years?"

"What about today? Today's Great Han Dynasty is weak, the laws of the Great Han are in vain, corruption is prevalent, rebellions are rampant, corrupt people abound, and refugees are overwhelming the sky. Why?" Li Ru sneered, "We all say that the emperor Faintness and incompetence, traitors and eunuchs rule the country, and the tyranny of foreign relatives has led to the decline of the Han Dynasty today. What about now? Now that the traitors and eunuchs are gone, the relatives are gone, and the young master is not in charge. Why has the Han Kingdom not changed at all? The first emperor ascended the throne It has been a month, why the expeditionary army is running out of food and pay? Why is there still no relief for the victims? Why is there less and less money in the treasury? Why can’t the loyal and patriotic rich and powerful donate some of their family assets? Regardless of safety and danger, you want to push northern Xinjiang into a desperate situation?"

Liu Ai's complexion changed, and he hurriedly stopped him: "Master Li, the situation in Luoyang has finally stabilized, you must not encourage your lord to take such a bad policy, and then disrupt the society."

"It's not the adults who are messing up the country anymore, and it's not me, but those people with ulterior motives." Li Ru touched the scar on his face, stared at Dong Zhuo, and said word by word, "When Beijiang falls, not only the adults are in danger, Even the Dahan society is about to fall. The collegiate meeting of the Four Houses and One Unit is not to revive the Dahan, but to destroy the Dahan. Your Excellency should consider teaming up with the Great General to control the power of the country as soon as possible, otherwise, the situation will become more and more unfavorable to you. "

Dong Zhuo looked stern.

===

"Your Excellency, you should think of the purpose of Yuan Kui taking advantage of the political chaos on the second day of the first emperor's ascension to send his disciples and old officials to other places in Beijing. The military and political power in various states and counties is now controlled by scholars. The consequences What it is is self-evident." Li Ru said, "Although your lord has a heavy army, he can only control Luoyang, a groundless place in the Fourth World War. Song, Wang Kuang in Hanoi, Han Fu in Jizhou, Liu Dai and Qiaomao in Yanzhou, Kong Ni in Yuzhou, Zhang Zi in Nanyang, if you add Li Wei and Wang Han in Hedong, you are surrounded on all sides and in a desperate situation .”

"If adults want to break through the tight encirclement, they can only join hands with the generals in chariots and cavalry as a backup, so as to gain a firm foothold in Luoyang as soon as possible." Li Ru cupped his hands and said, "When adults are poor, they want to change, and suddenly came up with this wonderful plan , I really admire the subordinate officials."

Dong Zhuo smiled bitterly when he thought of the young and frivolous Li Wei.I am the Taiwei of the Great Han Kingdom, with an army of [-], why can't I control my own destiny?Why am I suddenly under siege?Is it just like Li Ru said, because I have no roots in Luoyang?Dong Zhuo feels that saving himself is like duckweed in the rain, drifting with the tide and helpless.Dong Zhuo was speechless.

"Master Liu, Li Wei is not reliable." Liu Ai said, "After the first emperor ascended the throne, he ignored the imperial decree of the emperor and stationed troops at Hangu Pass and the Yellow River Ferry to threaten him and force him to share power equally with Yuan Wei and others. If not He, my lord, why did you come to such a dangerous situation today?"

"Today, if your lord didn't share power equally with the scholars and was in a dangerous situation, why would you decide to help Li Wei raise military funds?" Li Ru shook his head and said, "Li Wei must have a deep meaning every step he takes, so don't underestimate him. Do you know about Xu Ling and Qu Zhong, great merchants in Chang'an?"

Dong Zhuo and Liu Ai looked at Li Ru suspiciously.

"These two people have already moved their family to Hedong." Li Ru said, "The rich merchants and wealthy families on the ground in Gyeonggi have very close relationships. Aristocrats do business. If you want to confiscate the property of a wealthy businessman, you must avoid those who are closely related to the aristocrats. These two people have made a fortune in the past few years because of Bingzhou farming. They have nothing to do with the dignitaries in the court. Close relationship, so..."

Dong Zhuo was taken aback.Could it be that Li Wei predicted today's events before the chaos in Luoyang?If he is so powerful, does his suggestion today have a deeper intention?

"This must be a coincidence." Liu Ai shook his hand and said, "Master Li is too worried."

"No, I can't guess wrong. This person must be killed if he has the opportunity." Li Ru said, "We hunted and killed the rich merchants, and the one who benefited was not us, but Li Wei. We have to give the military funds of the expeditionary army For him, we will also give him money and food for the victims of the disaster, and we also helped him avoid tens of billions of debts."

"A debt of tens of billions?" Liu Ai asked puzzledly, "You mean the farmland and disaster relief supplies that Cheqi Dajunfu borrowed from many merchants in Gyeonggi on credit?"

Li Ru sighed: "It is this money, at least tens of billions. We killed all these merchants, and the money Beijiang owed them will not have to be repaid. This time, we can only help Li Wei kill and steal money."

Dong Zhuo gritted his teeth, and said viciously: "When it comes to Luoyang, I must kill him."

===

The next day, Dong Zhuo went up to play the emperor and asked the emperor to issue a decree to sue and confiscate the money stolen by the wealthy businessmen.At the same time, Dong Zhuo also asked Yantie to implement official management again.In order to raise military funds, Dong Zhuo suggested that the emperor solicit money from the princes and aristocratic families of Gyeonggi for military funds.

There was a sudden chaos in the court hall, Tai Fu Yuan Kui, Situ Huang Wan, Sikong Yang Biao, and many ministers went up to play the emperor one after another, refuting Dong Zhuo's memorial.

What Dong Zhuo meant was clear to the ministers in the DPRK and China that the announcement of the ban was false, and it was true that they took the opportunity to hunt, kill, and plunder the property of merchants.The informer has only one volume of secret letters, and the victims are in droves.

Yuan Kai said that once the suing order is promulgated, the world will be in chaos, and merchants will be hit hard. This is an immeasurable blow to today's Han Dynasty.Especially for the farming in northern Xinjiang. Now all the materials for farming in the farming are transported by merchants from all over the country. Once this proposal is passed, the merchants will disappear, and the farming in northern Xinjiang will be in trouble. The situation in northern Xinjiang will also suddenly reverse, which will definitely affect the expedition.

Facing all the ministers, Dong Zhuo sneered and said, "Well, since you don't agree to issue the order, then everyone should donate generously and actively donate."

Dong Zhuo walked up to Grand Tutor Yuan Kai and asked loudly, "For the sake of the Great Han Society, would Grand Tutor be willing to donate half of the family's wealth?"

Yuan Kai's expression turned cold, and he asked back, "Where is the Taiwei?"

Facing the emperor, Dong Zhuo said loudly: "I would like to donate all my family's wealth to fund the military."

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(End of this chapter)