Great Han Empire

Chapter 876 Troubled Times Heroic Chapter Wins Central Plains
The eldest princess urgently summoned Prime Minister Cai Yong, Taiwei Xu Rong and other important officials in the court, as well as Zhang Yan, Lu Bu and Yan Rou, three senior ministers to discuss matters at the Phoenix Terrace.

The ministers agreed that Han Sui's purpose of attacking Guanzhong at this time was very clear, that is, to take advantage of the opportunity of the Central Plains war against Luoyang and Hebei, both of which suffered losses, occupy Guanzhong, and then form a tripartite confrontation with Luoyang and Hebei to dominate Xiliang.This situation is very conducive to the stability and development of Western Xinjiang. Han Sui has been fighting bloody battles and working hard for more than ten years, and he is looking forward to this day.It is impossible to expect him to give up Guanzhong now.

The imperial court's next attack strategy is to recover Luoyang and take all of the Central Plains.Now that Yanzhou has been captured, the army's attack targets in the near future are Guanzhong, Hanoi, and Yingchuan, Yuzhou, in order to realize the idea of ​​encircling Luoyang from four directions: east, west, south, north.In other words, to regain Luoyang, Guanzhong must be won, and to defeat Guanzhong, Hebei's opponents are not only Han Sui, but also Yuan Shao.When the Northern Xinjiang army entered Guanzhong, Yuan Shao and Han Sui would join forces, there is no doubt about it.

"Is it possible for us to attack Guanzhong now?" The eldest princess glanced slowly over the faces of Xu Rong and Zhang Yan, "Han Sui is fighting Yuan Shao, if the army enters Guanzhong immediately, the timing should be more appropriate, Han Sui So we may not have time to join hands with Yuan Shao."

Xu Rong shook his head, "If we launch an attack immediately, the only army we can use is more than 4 from Hedong. This force is seriously insufficient to take Guanzhong."

"According to Lord Yang Feng's report, Han Sui and Ma Chao joined forces with the Qiang people to bring about 7 people to attack Guanzhong, while Yuan Tan and Duan Yan had more than 3 people standing on the front line of Xinfeng. Thousands of people." Xu Rong looked at the eldest princess and the ministers solemnly, "If we want to attack Guanzhong, we need at least twice as many troops, that is, 10 troops, but it is impossible for us to gather so many troops in the near future. It won’t work next year either. The attack on Guanzhong has become extremely difficult with the sudden advance of the Xiliang army.”

"Currently, the army on the Central Plains battlefield needs time to rest and replenish. They will attack Hanoi and Yingchuan this year and next year, and they must stick to the Yanzhou and Qingzhou prefectures. They must guard against the counterattack of the rebels, so they cannot be dispatched. The iron cavalry returning to the frontier also needs Time to rest and supplement, and winter is coming soon, even if you want to recruit, you have to wait until next spring. Whether the desert Huqi will be recruited will not be decided until next year, because I think that the recruitment of Huqi every year will make the Hu people feel The decline of the power of the Han Dynasty is very likely to prompt some Hu tribes to take the opportunity to rebel, which is very detrimental to the great cause of ZTE."

"Insufficient troops are only one of the difficulties. The most difficult thing to attack Guanzhong is the lack of imperial wealth. Since the Central Plains War, the imperial wealth has been exhausted. Except for the Hanoi battlefield, all battlefields have ceased fighting. The imperial court is also anxiously waiting for the autumn harvest in October. The final taxes were put into the treasury. Looking back now, if Hebei had not implemented the new land system and the new tax system in the past few years, which increased tax revenue, we would not have the ability to attack the Central Plains. If we want to gather an army of 20 to attack Guanzhong, the imperial court will not be able to afford it.”

The eldest princess Dai frowned tightly, with a worried expression on her face.Cai Yong and the ministers also frowned bitterly, helpless.

"Early after the start of the Great War in the Central Plains, the imperial court had estimated that Han Sui might be going to pass the customs. Today's situation is also in our expectation, but because the seven-month Great War in the Central Plains has exhausted Hebei's wealth, we can only watch He watched Han Sui rush into Guanzhong, unable to stop him." Xu Rong continued, "But if he does not attack Guanzhong for a long time, Han Sui will definitely take advantage of the fact that Hebei and Luoyang cannot use troops against Guanzhong, and quickly gain a foothold in Guanzhong. Once Guanzhong has gained a firm foothold, it will be even more difficult to fight in Guanzhong.”

"Feiyan (Zhang Yan), Fengxian (Lu Bu), and Ziyu (Yan Rou) and I discussed it just now, and we think that the best time to attack Guanzhong should be next June. In June next year, the court will have The grain for the two seasons has been put into the warehouse, and the cattle and sheep on the frontier desert have begun to grow fat after the pastures turn green in early summer and May, so that the grain and grass of the army can at least guarantee us to fight for four months. In addition, Qing and Yan prefectures will come next year In June, a small amount of taxes can also be paid to the imperial court, and the food and grass of the various armies in the Central Plains can be replenished nearby, so that they can launch an attack on Luoyang, effectively contain Yuan Shao's troops, and cooperate with us to attack Guanzhong."

"Next year in June?" The Eldest Princess looked at Prime Minister Cai Yong and Shang Shuling Li Wei, and asked very worriedly, "By June next year, can the imperial court ensure that the army will attack Guanzhong?"

Cai Yong sighed, "If God blesses, there won't be any disasters before June next year, the imperial court should be able to launch an attack on Guanzhong, but..."

The eldest princess, Xu Rong and others became nervous at the same time.

"At most 20 troops to attack Guanzhong." Li Wei followed Cai Yong's words, "No matter what, the imperial court's wealth cannot support [-] troops to fight." Li Wei looked at Xu Rong, Zhang Yan, Lu Bu and Yan Rou. , said solemnly, "Four generals, with an army of one hundred thousand, can't they defeat Han Sui and Yuan Shao?"

The four looked at each other and nodded.Xu Rong waved his hand vigorously, "Okay, one hundred thousand is one hundred thousand, I will personally go to Guanzhong to lead the army."

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After determining the attack strategy for the Battle of Guanzhong, everyone immediately discussed various countermeasures before launching the attack.

Because the best time to attack is next June or a little later, Zhongshu Supervisor Xun You suggested that before that, Hebei pretended to be in crisis of wealth and took the initiative to negotiate peace with various rebels in order to obtain a longer recovery time.

"Han Sui needs time to take all of Guanzhong and fight Yuan Shao for a while, of course he wants us to have a good talk with him."

"Yuan Shao lost a lot of strength after the Great War in the Central Plains, while Cao Cao and Liu Bei have basically been defeated. In the next two to three years, the rebels will no longer be able to form an alliance with the coalition to launch a massive counterattack. The states and counties are very rich, and the territory has been stable in the past few years, and the wealth is relatively sufficient, but we are not strong enough, so we can only protect ourselves. In this case, we took the initiative to go to negotiate a peace, playing in their favor, and we may Unexpected benefits can be obtained from the negotiation.”

Xun You's suggestion was unanimously approved by everyone.Taking advantage of the opportunity of peace talks, Hebei can quickly restore its strength, and it can also win over and split the rebels, which is very conducive to the pacification of the world war in the later period.

The eldest princess immediately issued an order, ordering Taiwei Xu Rong to go south to Hedong to appease Han Sui after making some preparations.Order General Li Hong to send people to appease Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, Liu Biao and others.If these people are willing to negotiate a peace, they can release some rebel generals captured in the Central Plains War, such as Cao Ren, Sun Fu, Lu Su, etc., to show their sincerity.

The eldest princess also ordered Yan Rou, the general of Zhenbei, to go north to Yunzhong immediately, to appease and deter the Hu tribes in the frontiers, and at the same time to train the cavalry, preparing to lead the army into Guanzhong to fight next spring.

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After discussing the matter in Guanzhong, Prime Minister Cai Yong, Shang Shu Ling Li Wei and Zhong Shu Supervisor Xun You jointly played the memorial.

In order to promote and implement new land systems such as "dictation of land by dictation" and "Tu Duan", the imperial court has repeatedly purchased and loaned the land of the rich and powerful in the three prefectures of Hebei at low prices. , will take out part of the land and sell it at a low price and repay it to these rich and powerful.

After the great victory in the Central Plains, these rich and influential people couldn't wait to ask the imperial court to fulfill their original promise.

"Qingzhou and Yanzhou have experienced many years of wars and disasters, and the population of the two states has shrunk dramatically. Although Cao Cao and Tian Kai implemented the strategy of farming in both places, due to the limited population and continuous wars, they were forced to Excessive taxation in the two prefectures, repeated forced recruitment of soldiers, resulted in the population of the two places not only not increasing, but dwindling, and the lives of the people have not been improved." Li Wei reported, "The current situation in Yanzhou is very suitable for the imperial court to promote the Xintian system. , and with our efforts, Qingzhou has basically completed the implementation of the new land system. In order to restore the vitality of the two states in a short period of time, and let the imperial court get the taxes of the two states as soon as possible, we need to do two things. The repatriation of the population, the second is to allow the rich and wealthy in Hebei to quickly obtain the land they need, and let them invest a lot of money in the land in order to obtain considerable food and money in the shortest possible time."

"Last year we moved more than 100 million people back to Qingzhou. It is estimated that Qingzhou's population is about 200 million now, which is still a long way from the 360 million people at the peak of Qingzhou's population. Therefore, the imperial court plans to move to Qingzhou after the autumn harvest and autumn planting are over. Bring back 50 people."

"The population of Yanzhou is only about 100 million at most now, and the population of Yanzhou was more than 400 million when it was the largest. Therefore, the imperial court plans to relocate 200 million people from Bingzhou, Youzhou and Jizhou."

"Yanzhou and Qingzhou used to be tax-heavy states in this dynasty. If there is enough population, there are a lot of money and materials invested by the rich and powerful merchants and merchants in the three states of Hebei, and the new land system and new taxation system of the imperial court are guaranteed. States are expected to return to past tax levels within two to three years."

"After the population crisis in the three prefectures of Hebei, especially the problem of population expansion in Jizhou, has been completely resolved, the common people will have more land, and the common people will pay more taxes, and then the common people's life will be better. The frontier fortress is also more stable, which is very helpful to the stability of the three states in Hebei and the border counties in the northern border."

"Even though a large number of people in Yanzhou and Qingzhou moved back from Hebei, the population still has not reached the previous number. In addition, most of the rich and powerful in the two places fled and were killed, and there are countless unowned lands. The original promise to the rich and powerful in the three prefectures of Hebei."

Li Wei talked on and on for a long time, while Cai Yong, Liu He, Xun You, and Da Sinonong Zhong Yao kept explaining the details in detail.

At the beginning, in order to reduce expenditures, the imperial court specially allocated "office land" and "public land" to officials and government offices in various places. (The income from the public land was used for official expenses of the government. The income from the official land was used to pay the salaries of officials at all levels.) At that time, the imperial court was short of money and had no money to buy land. The powerful and wealthy borrow on credit.Later, the imperial court implemented the military household system and needed land, so the imperial court bought a lot of land from these powerful and wealthy people at a very low price, which relieved the urgent need.

Now that the imperial court has land, of course it must fulfill its promise.Firstly, it can increase the prestige of the emperor and the court; secondly, it can stabilize the hearts of the people; thirdly, it can take advantage of the opportunity of selling land to make a fortune and solve the money needed by the imperial court to relocate the population; fourthly, these rich men and merchants are very rich , and the restoration of Qingzhou and Yanzhou needs money, and the two sides are mutually beneficial, so why not do it?
"Will this conflict with the new land system of the imperial court?" The eldest princess asked worriedly, "The rich and powerful have more land and money, and they will find ways to buy more land, which will have a negative impact on the new land system. It’s a big impact. Do you have a proper control method? If not, don’t sell a lot of land for the small profit in front of you, so as to plant a huge hidden danger for the turmoil in the country.”

"Of course the imperial court has a way to control it." Li Wei said confidently, "As more and more states and counties are promoted and implemented, the new land system will become more and more perfect. If these people want to enjoy a lifetime of glory and wealth, Don’t go against the New Deal, otherwise they will not only have no blessing to enjoy wealth, but they will even lose their heads.”

Seeing that the important officials in the court unanimously agreed with the memorial, the eldest princess immediately issued an edict to implement it.

=

"How long will it take to move the population south?" The eldest princess asked again, "Will it affect the Guanzhong war?"

"After the autumn harvest and autumn planting in October, the southward migration of population can begin, but this time many states and counties are involved, and the southward population has reached 250 million, so it will take about half a year." Cai Yong said, "The court strives to Finishing this southward move before the spring plowing in April will not affect the Guanzhong War."

"Such a huge relocation involves all aspects, and someone needs to come to Yanzhou to preside over the overall situation." The eldest princess said, "The general is the most suitable candidate, but the general is not in good health, so he needs to use this time to recuperate." She looked at the ministers present and asked with a smile, "My lords, take a look, who is the most suitable to send?"

All the ministers were stunned.

The focus of this relocation is land distribution, and the land distribution of meritorious soldiers and military households is even more related to the success or failure of ZTE's great cause, so of course it should be the general who presides over this matter.Even if the general is not in good health, at least let him have a name, let him personally ask about the land distribution of meritorious soldiers and military households, how can he be completely ignored?

"Your Highness, apart from the general, other ministers..." Cai Yong looked at the ministers on the left and right, and said with a wry smile, "It's not appropriate for anyone to go."

The smile on the eldest princess's face gradually faded, and there was a hint of anger in her eyes, "Are you trying to exhaust the general to death? If he is dead, do you think the big man can be rejuvenated?"

The ministers were startled and knelt down one after another, not daring to say a word.

The eldest princess was unwilling to let the general preside over this matter, obviously not because the general was in poor health, but because she wanted the general to gradually stay away from government affairs.After the great victory in the Central Plains, the foundation of ZTE's great cause has been laid, and the general is also famous and outstanding, and the threat to the imperial power is getting bigger and bigger.This time the eldest princess personally went north to the desert to recruit Hu Qi and went south, and personally rushed to Handan to supervise the battle. On the pretext of attacking Luoyang, he resolutely refused to return to Jinyang to accept the grand celebration gift.

The great victory in the Central Plains is of great significance. The general did not return to the court to announce the good news, and Jinyang did not hold a grand celebration ceremony. This is extremely abnormal. The sensitive ministers immediately realized that the eldest princess was deliberately suppressing the prestige of the general, and the general I also deliberately deal with it in a low-key manner to avoid all unnecessary troubles.

Before the emperor and the court returned to Luoyang, Jinyang seemed to be having a storm.

The ministers did not speak, so the eldest princess had no choice but to ask by name.

"Master Liu, which minister do you think is most suitable to preside over this matter in Yanzhou?"

The censor Liu He didn't even think about it, so he opened his mouth and said, "I think Zhao Qi, Mr. Zhao, is the most suitable."

The eldest princess was stunned for a moment, and then realized that Liu He was trying to prevaricate her at this time, she couldn't help but blushed with anger, and gave him a hard look, "What do you mean? Mrs. Zhao is 91 years old, you...you actually want to come out."

Liu He lowered his head and fell silent.

"Master Xun, tell me."

Xun You thought for a while, and said respectfully: "This matter is of great importance, and we need a respected old minister. Mr. Zhao Qi is 91 years old, so of course he can't go. Mr. Cui Lie's illness is getting worse and worse, and now he is confused. No way. Master Ding Gong was tortured to death by rheumatism. Master Yuan Pang has been lying on the couch for half a year and can’t get up. Master Chen Ji..." Xun You said helplessly with a dark face "He is seriously ill and can last until this winter at most. Mr. Yang Biao has a leg problem and cannot travel far. Mr. Chunyujia's eyesight is failing. The four elders Xu Shao, Guo Yun, Gai Xun and Wang Han They are not in good health, and have not been in court for a long time. Zhao Wen, Zhang Xi, and Han Rong have always had opinions on the new policy, and they are not familiar with the general, so His Highness would not send them if they thought about it."

Xun You then turned to look at Prime Minister Cai Yong, which meant that apart from the Prime Minister, there seemed to be no suitable person found.

"Your prime minister has a lot of things to do every day, so you can't go to Yanzhou alone." The eldest princess looked at Xun You and said, "Mr. Xun has worked hard, you can go to Yanzhou."

Xun You was dizzy, looked left and right, and there were pairs of sympathetic eyes.He sighed secretly, and bowed to accept the order, "Your Highness, I am limited by myself, and I still need the help of several ministers."

"Which ministers do you want to help?"

"Tian Chou, Xie Ming, Tang Fang, and Chen Hao, please come with me to Yanzhou."

Xun You talked about the old subordinates of the four generals in one breath.With these four people going to Yanzhou together, Xun You can do everything conveniently, and will not have any conflicts with the general.All the ministers in the hall greatly admired Xun You's wit. This man really has a way, and he solved such a difficult matter in a blink of an eye.

The eldest princess smiled and agreed without hesitation.

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(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.CMFU.COM, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)
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